When Time Stops
by Beth9891
Summary: After an incident at the Dursleys leaves Harry no where to go, an ancient and powerful being finds him. How this affects the wizarding world and supernatural world can only be guessed. Slash. Harry/? sorry crappy summary, give it a try before dismissing!
1. prologue: The beginning of the end

**So I decided to start another story while working on The art of deception. The idea wouldn't leave so figured might as well try it. It will be a vampire/creature fanfic. I know they have been done alot but figured I add my two cents. **

**I haven't decided on where I really want to go on this or even if I will finish it. Deciding to write until I run out of stuff to write about it. It will be a slash story. Sorry to those that don't like, just know you have been warned. **

**I haven't decided on the pairings yet, but will be harry/and someone. **

**Please note that the prologue is angsty but will get lighter after that!**

**disclaimer: Not JK Rowling (sigh), don't own harry potter or the other characters you recognize from the books. This is for my writing pleasure only,**

**Warning: child abuse,eventual slash, eventual bloodplay**

**Read and review! LOve to hear what you think!**

_Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them. ~Dion Boucicault_

**Prologue: The start of then end**

The day had started like any other day for one Harry James Potter, that is loudly. He had been awakened by the screeching voice of his lovely Aunt Petunia. He really could not be sure how he had already screwed up if he had just awoken, but there was his relative's logic for you.

He had of course been denied breakfast on this harshly sunny summer day, for whatever pre-conceived slight his Aunt had deemed was his. Fortunately, well for them anyway he was still given the honor of preparing their breakfast. There was after all no point on everyone suffering for the freaks faults, or so Aunt Petunia stated. This of course went smoothly right up until Vernon (he refused to call him uncle even in his own head) had decided that he didn't actually want the diced tomatoes in his omelet (it made little difference to Vernon that he was the one to specifically tell his freak of a nephew to add them in the first place), this of course resulted in a well deserved (well as far as Vernon was concerned) blow to said nephews forearm. It would have been to the freaks face but the freak happened to have annoyingly fast reflexes and had managed to shield his head.

The blow of course was not really about eggs or tomatoes or really even the freak, Vernon had merely needed an outlet for his current bad mood. A bad mood that was the result of a rather vaguely requested upcoming meeting with the head of accounts. Something that did not delight Vernon in the slightest.

Thankfully, for Harry this one blow was deemed enough to restore a resemblance of good cheer to his obese uncle and he was banished to the back yard where he spent the next several hours, sweating in the 30 degree heat pushing the mower. Aunt Petunia had refused to upgrade to something other than a push mower saying it was bad for the environment (not that this stopped her from buying numerous snacks wrapped in plastic for Dudley). However, regardless of the reasoning she came up with, all that mattered was the result, that being Harry having to mow, remow and mow again to ensure an even cut.

He had been given a stale piece of bread and chunk of cheese for lunch and had drunk his fill from the garden hose when he was sure Aunt Petunia wasn't watching. The afternoon of course consisted of more time under the scorching sun, pulling weeds and trimming the hedges.

It wasn't until Vernon returned from work that everything had gone to hell.

Apparently Vernon had, had good reason to be worried about the requested meeting between his boss and himself, it had not been pleasant. No, not in the least, Vernon had found himself on the receiving end of a rather sharp verbal dress down and on probation for the remainder of the summer. For things that were of course not his fault.

Harry had sensed the moment the purple over blown face had walked in the door that it was going to be bad. He had of course the misfortune of having just finished the yard work and entering the house. Vernon had taken one look at the emaciated, sweaty, dirty teen and lost it. Harry had tried to lessen the blows but they just kept coming.

He vaguely recalled retreating into that safe, dark area of his mind when he felt his right arm bone break. When even this did not help, pure panic had ruptured forth. A wild need to stop his uncle had taken over him. He felt a burning, raw, intense power erupt from his very core, the backlash of which had sent him into blissful blackness.

Harry did not know how long it was until he awoke. When he did he was greeted by intense pain radiating from every cell of his body, blood of which he was pretty sure was his own, and the sight of an unconscious Vernon slumped against the far wall. Aunt Petunia and Dudley were thankfully still absent, likely still having tea with one of Petunia's 'friends.' Harry sat staring at the slack form of his uncle in shock. He didn't know what to do. He could not quite bring himself to go and check if his uncle was still breathing so instead he stared.

He was broken from his revere by the sound of a sharp tapping on the window. Slowly, he managed to stand up careful not to jostle his oddly angled arm more than normal. He took a minute to take stock of his own person and quickly summed up the damage; a broken arm, several broken ribs, dislocated shoulder and sprained ankle, that and more bruises and surface wounds then he could count. All in all it hurt like hell. He used this pain to focus his mind long enough to open the window and retrieve a letter from a rather stern looking owl.

A minute later and his world truly fell apart.

It was a letter from the ministry, one that told him rather succinctly that he had preformed yet more underaged magic and this time there would be no hearing, no chance to explain, just a confiscation of his wand and an expulsion from Hogwarts. All cheerfully stated and signed, wishing him the best of days.

No, No, no….this could not be happening. He could not be expelled; he could not lose his wand. He could not be made to forever endure life as a muggle at the hands of his relatives. He would not survive. When….If… Vernon woke up there was no telling what he would do.

Panic expanded. Harry stopped thinking and started to only react on instinct. He hastily froze and broke the lock on the boot cupboard. Panic had him grabbing his wand and shrinking his few belongings. He didn't bother with the school trunk since he would not be going to Hogwarts it seemed a little pointless. He grabbed his broom and his father's invisibility cloak and did the only thing that made sense to his harried mind. He ran.

Or flew rather. He was a jumble of emotions, each flashing through one after another. Fear, Panic, Anger, Disbelief, hurt, horror over and over again as he flew through the night sky. He did not know where to go; he had no one he could trust. The Weasley's were kind to him but they could do little to shield him from this and he would only get them in further trouble, Hermione for all her good intentions was much too trained to respect authority and would make him turn himself in, and Dumbledore….

No, he would not think of that now. His anger and hurt, at his once beloved headmaster was still a festering sore. Dumbledore had lied to him, he had ignored him when he needed him, he had let Sirius die, he had sent him back year after year to the Dursleys, all for some greater good that Harry had little hope of ever actually living to see. So no his headmaster was a definite no.

So he just flew. Hour after hour, until the pain had dulled and the numbness of cold was taking over and still he flew. Eventually, the last shred of reason made itself known in his mind. It whispered that he was sliding closer and closer to the end of his broom, that his grip was growing weaker and weaker, and that he was several hundreds of feet in the air. Some part of him acknowledged this and he found his broom angling closer to the ground. His brain vaguely noted that there were a lot of very tall trees, a forest then. He was somewhere rather cold, with a forest.

Bone tired weariness fell over him. He was tired, so tired of everything. He was tired of pain, he was tired of impossible expectations, he was tired of lies, of suffering most of all he was just tired. His jumbled mind registered he was no longer on a broom, it noted that there was another jolt of pain, new pain that is, it registered that he was laying on a rather cold, wet musty smelling surface.

Leafs…Harry brain supplied. He did not know where he was, he did not know what would happen, he did not know if he cared.

Harry let his eyes close wearily; the darkness that crept in was welcomed.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

He walked silently through the ancient trees. His movements spoke of an in-human grace, his footsteps light and without the hesitation so ingrained in most mortal beings. For he had little to fear, there were few things that could actually injure, much less kill him.

The centuries had not been kind. While his physical appearance was still as perfect as it had always been anything beneath the outermost layer was long since disfigured beyond recognition. These deep scars had not leant to un-tempered rage; they failed to twist him into what muggles would term the sole incarnation of evil, no these scars simply were. He had not felt any true, deep emotion; no fierce hatred, no intense sadness, no bubbling joy in over a century, he simply existed.

A despondent shell that refused to destabilize, like its empty interior would predict. He had no real motivations left, no reason to continue to be and yet here he was. It had been 246 years since he had felt kinship or kindness towards another being, living or dead. His once close friends had given up after the first 150 years, eventually conceding to his wish to be alone. No, there had been little light since he had lost her.

Her memory was the only thing that really stirred anything anymore. The only real lasting memories that he still chose to recall was the cruelty of her death, and not only her death but that of his unborn daughter. They say time heals all things, he disagrees. Time changes things it does not heal.

Leonor continued his nightly foray, treading deeper and deeper into the _Schwarzwald _Forrest, or better known to tourists adn locals as 'The Black Forrest.' Normally he would have chosen a forrest that was a little less known but he had been residing nearby as of late and figured it was as good as any place to find peace that only came with complete isolation of night. No sane person would wander this deep under the cover of darkness. The nickname bestowed the forest was not complete myth after all.

He ignored the familar burning itch in his throat. He probably should have fed earlier, ah well it was no big consquence. He was not a youngling who allowed his thirst to rule him. He had once found amusment in the muggle views of people like him. The views had shifted over the years going from a blood thirsty ravenous beast to a beauitul soleful seductor. Niether were close to the truth, though the first was probably closer then the second. He could not fathom the ideas that made ridiculus teenage muggle fantasies.

Just another proof that human kind was demented. It was not saying that he could not be beautiful or engage in seduction but he found little use in either, it was so much simplilar simply to over-power and kill, he had little patience for games. He knew there were many of his kind who enjoyed toying with their prey first, but he was not them. Of course most of those that enjoyed that type of perversion were not true immortals. They were what muggles and wizards alike termed vampires, a name he thought appropriate as they were much closer to parasites then to what they hoped to emmulate.

He was an ancient. One of the chosen, the truly immortal. The others were cheap immitations, made through a curse rather then a gift from magic. They were the ones ruled by their base instincts, the need to hunt. No, there were few ancients that chose to inhabit the mortal realm, most of his kind lived in a sancutary , a realm of their own. Not beacuse they feared the miniscule little mortals but because they could not be bothered to put the effort into completely destroying them, plus there main food source had to come from somewhere. The Shadow realm was what one childish immortal named this hidden plain. The child had been favored by their Prince and so the name had stuck.

He had not been back to the realm since Mencia had been killed. It had shocked the entire realm, for she and his unborn child were also immortals and therefore should not have died. And yet they had. Panic had overrode judgement on when it had happened, never before had the immortals experienced a vulnerbility. When he had enacted his self exile the royals had been no closer to finding a cause. He had kept a ear open over the years but nothing had been found.

He pulled himself out of his morose thoughts, debating if he was ready to return as of yet. He was currently reciding in a small secluded cottage, it was sparse but comfortable. It met his needs; it was secluded and went unnoticed by other beings thanks to his magical masking of the place, it was also not too far from a small town. Small enough, not to be annoying but large enough so no one knew each other well enough to notice if a few went missing.

He stopped, freezing to a stillness that would have put a statue to shame as he noticed a small prone figure laying across the forrest floor ahead of him. For a split second he was sure it was dead, but then he noticed the small shallow movements of what had to be pained breathing.

Well, he thought wrly to himself looks as if Fate has favored me tonight and supplied a meal.

He moved gracefully to stand next to the body, it did not stir at his approach. It was a tiny ittle thing. A child he discerned most likely having seen not much over a decades worth of years, as slight as it's body was it did not have the healthy plumbness one ascertained with mortal children. He knelt quietly, leaning in to get closer and carefully layed a hand on a painfully sharp, frail shoulder.

He really did not need to move quietly or carefully but he found blood tasted so much better when it wasn't diluted with endorphins caused by panic and fear. Not that he was likely to get much blood out of this one, he could smell that it was all but bathed in it's own blood. Likely from the injuries he could decipher even from this angle. It's blood smelled heavenly, it had a sweet, spicy smell with just a hint of a bitterness. So much better smelling then most mortal's blood, usually to saccrinally sweet or so soured by their cores. He could sense magic leaking from it's body, a wizard then he assumed, it didn't smell right to be a elf or veela.

He carefully turned it on its back and scooped it up in his arms before standing. He stared down with mild disgust. Some might label him as a monster, but even he would not have inflicted the damage and pain that had been inflicted on this small creature, at least not on a child. It revolted him enough to dim the craving that the smell of it's blood had caused.

He almost started when he looked down to see a set of huge, unnaturally green eyes staring calmly back at him. They showed no fear, no desire to save it's self, nothing really beside acceptance.

Why he did what he did next, he would never know. It could have been because of what those eyes showed or what the boy said. He honestly did not really want to know.

The boy continued to stare at him, a weariness and age in his eyes that should not have been there for one so young. "Thank you" he whispered, in a lovely soft voice before closing his eyes and letting the tension that had been present while he spoke drain to nothing. Leonor stared at him with something akin to disbelief on his pale face.

One would have to be a complete idiot not to recognize what he was, or what they would believe him to be, he did have fairly prominent fangs after all. Perhaps, the child was too young? Or maybe a little slow? Surely with his magic as drained as it was he could sense the inhernent danger Leonor represented. He was unsettled, off balanced for the first time in a very long period. What was it doing thanking him? Did it have no self preservation at all?

How odd...Leonor could honestly state he could not recall any of his prey having thanked him for making them his meal. No, most beggged, pleaded , attempted to bargain or held some delusion that he would change them at the last minute, but none of them thanked him at the thought of ending their existance.

And suddenly he held no desire to kill this being. He was much to curious. He couldn't recall having been interested as to the why behind someone's actions in over two hundred years. Perhaps it was the weariness, the numbness that he had seen reflected back at him, in a way it was like looking in a mirror. So empty.

He did not know where this new desire came from exactly, but suddently he felt the need to keep this human. He knew that it would probably have preferred the quick death and peace of darkness that came with it, but he never said he was anything but a selfish being. That wasn't about to change now.

With that he turned around, careful to not jostle his new study and began to make his way home. This time there was just the smallest flicker of something in his gut. He dare not recognize it after all these years.

But some might call it hope.


	2. The Devil is not so black

**So here is the next chapter! hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter one: 'The Devil is not so black as he is painted'**

_"__We may not pay Satan reverence, for that would be indiscreet, but we can at least respect his talents."  
― __Mark Twain_

Leonor's return trip took little time even by mortal standards; he could thank his preternatural attributes for this. These were the same attributes he had come to despise; they were the part of what made him truly immortal. After Mencia's death and the death of his child he had so wished to join them, to end his tedious existence. It was only then did he realize how much immortality could truly be a curse.

He sighed looking down at the unnaturally cold and still body in his arms, perhaps this little creature could amuse him for a time. Distract him from his own meaningless existence; well it was worth a try he suppose. He had spent the last several centuries trying to continue as he was; it did not appear to be working. Perhaps this was fates way of telling him to try something new.

He mentally scoffed at himself. He truly was going insane. Laying the child's body on the Spartan bed he had acquired (another stupid myth, vampires and immortals alike needed sleep, to think otherwise was simply ridiculous), and resolutely decided to stop fighting the fact that he was likely going insane and simply embrace it for the time being. He could always go and retrieve his sanity if this did not work, he had forever after all.

He studied the boy. He might have been off on his age it was hard to tell. He was definitely nearing starvation, and he had long standing injuries aside from the most current wounds. He really didn't bother learning all that much about human healing; he had never really needed to…what reason did he have to heal one of them? Well, it didn't matter anyway, immortal's blood was far more potent than anything wizards could possibly come up with, even phoenix tears (this was not the same for vampires, there blood had no effect except to pass on the curse).

Despite the battered appearance of his new charge, he could tell the wizard was beautiful. Had his face not currently been sporting the results of its abuse, he would wager to say his beauty was more then what was normal for a mortal. It was possible he suppose that the child had very diluted amounts of immortal blood in his bloodline. There had been some more indiscriminant immortals that had chosen to mate with mortals as they were, rather than changing them first. It was not common simply because few mortals would have survived carrying a child with even a hint of immortal blood.

Still the boy's eyes spoke of power to large for its container. He had a delicate bone structure that leant grace to his pale face, full lips, long curved eye lashes, yes he was rather exquisite. Leonor decided it did not really matter at the moment, he hadn't exactly decided what he was going to do with the boy so it was useless to speculate.

He let his fangs come out and carefully bit his wrist, allowing the blood to pool before reaching over and forcing the boy's mouth open. He allowed approximately a mouthful before rubbing his throat to trigger the swallow reflex.

Ironic, Leonard thought he had hoped to feed off the boy and instead he was feeding him. Shaking his head at the absurdity of this change he brought a chair closer to the side of the bed and sat back to watch the change.

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Harry felt his awareness slowly coming back to him. His conscious still felt sluggish, as if it was wading through a thick viscous liquid. He hurt; although the pain was much better then he could ever remember it being. Where was he? What had happened? He forced himself to remain still and let his mind come up with answers.

He was flooded with memories of the past day; Dursleys, beating, unconscious Vernon, Minstery, expelled, flying, falling….and then….his brain stuttered. And then he should have been dead. He vaguely recalled emerging from the peaceful darkness to immense pain, he recalled being picked up and held by someone, he recalled what little magic he had left screaming danger at him, and he recalled being too tired to care, just wanting it to end. He recalled looking up at a boy-no man? Of immense beauty knowing that it was likely to be the last sight he saw. He remembered thanking the man, thanking him for being the one who would put him out of his misery. For taking that impossible decision away from him, for doing what Harry had never had the guts to do. Then darkness.

He remained motionless trying to sus out his surroundings. He was not dead, why wasn't he dead? Where was he?

Wherever he was it was unnaturally quiet, he could faintly hear the chirping of birds, but it sounded as if they were on the other side of a thick wall. So inside then. He was lying on something soft, much too soft to be his bed at the Dursleys, or even one of the hospital beds at Hogwarts. He really could not wager a guess. He hadn't been in his right mind last night and had no idea where he had been flying too or even what direction he had taken. He knew he would not have flown to Hogwarts, not with its association with Dumbledore. He doubted that he would have flown to Grimmauld place because of its association with Sirius. It was much too quiet to be the Weasleys.

He cracked his eyes open, immediately wincing when the harsh light tore at him. He couldn't quite stop the pained whimper that slip past his lips. He had always hated this part; the part of waking up after some grievous injury and not being sure of the current state of things, it left him so vulnerable. He was working up the courage to try and open his eyes again when he felt the pressure of someone gripping his shoulder. He froze in shock, his eyes flying open in spite of the pain that it caused him. For a moment it overwhelmed him and he started to struggle against the hold. Seconds later he managed to push down the panic and take in what was in front of him.

It was the same man from last night, (he assumed it was last night, he really was not sure how long he had been out). He stilled, mentally assessing and storing details, trying to ascertain what level of danger he was currently in. The conclusions he was coming too all said one thing, a-lot.

The man in front of him looked to be in his early twenties, but something about how he moved and held himself stated that this was not entirely true. He had an unnatural stillness and grace in the way he moved. His shoulder length black hair was drawn back from his face, tied elegantly behind him so that the end curled, resting on his right shoulder. His face was one of immense beauty. The bone structure screaming nobility, intense grey eyes, shrouded with dark lashes, a straight nose and thin lips. His skin was a olive tone and he looked to have Latin American ancestry. But the thing that captivated Harry, making it painful to look away was the shroud of darkness cloaking the stranger. It was like a palpable yet invisible film that surrounded him, making apparent just how dangerous this stranger was.

The stranger looked down at him and must have taken in the shocked expression and wide eyes, for his lips quirked slightly. "I see that you are awake" he spoke, his voice deep, but more melodious then Harry would have expected.

Harry didn't answer not sure what to do in this situation. Every instinct in him was telling him that this man was not to be underestimated, that he should tread carefully. He had the insane urge to reach up and stroke the man's cheek, an urge he resisted. It was rather unsettling, considering Harry hated being touched or touching others. Years of negative touch had made him very leery of physical contact. He still flinched when Hermione engulfed him in a hug or Ron squeezed his shoulder, and he had known them for years. Not a mere few seconds. Thankfully he also had the saner urge to flee and escape at the first chance he had. Realizing the stranger was waiting patiently for a response, he nodded his head, darting his eyes furtively around to take in the rest of the room.

He was in a clean but sparse room. The bed, the chair a small table in the corner, an oak wardrobe were all understated but of clearly good quality. This surprised him given the plainness of the room he wouldn't have thought that the furnishing would hold any value. The man was staring at him with an intensity that made Harry want to squirm.

"W-Where am I?" he asked, flushing lightly at the crack in his voice. He knew better then to show fear to a potential enemy, fear only encouraged them. He knew this all too well, Vernon, Voldmort, even Lucius Malfoy delighted in seeing fear from their prey. Harry mentally shook himself from his thoughts and turned to stare at the man, he made himself look the man in the eyes and hold his gaze, refusing to show further weakness.

Instead of the man bristling at this impertinence, he looked amused a slow smile spreading across his angelic features. "You are a funny little thing aren't you, so odd" he mused reaching towards Harry's face, ignoring the stiffing of his prey to glide a finger down the side of the delicate face.

Harry felt his hackles rising at the uninvited touch along with the words spoken. He fought to keep his face impassive but didn't think he did a very good job at it, if the widening smile on the strangers face was anything to judge by. "So I've been told" he answered in a flat tone.

The stranger chuckled at this before leaning back and returning to the chair nearby before resuming his unsettling staring. "To answer your question, we are at my place. I found you quite literally a moment away from certain death. I brought you back and healed you" he stated in a tone that said he thought that this should be obvious.

Harry fought to hide his surprise. "Why?" he asked the question coming out much more bluntly then he had meant. At the raised eyebrow the man gave him he found himself flushing again, "I-I mean why would you do that, go to that amount of trouble? What do you possibly have to gain from it?" Harry repeated, this time voicing his confusion.

The man studied him for a long moment before answering, "Must I have a reason? Perhaps I was just being a good citizen, helping those in need…"

Harry could not stop himself from snorting at this. He allowed the disbelief color his expression, "No one does something for no reason. Nothing is free" he stated resolutely.

The man allowed a feral smile to creep across his face, "You're not a naïve as you look" he answered.

Harry chose to ignore the intended insult, "What is it you want from me?" he asked trying not to let the nerves he was feeling show.

The smile that had been on the man's face disappeared replaced with a completely blank look; he muttered something that Harry did not quite catch.

Suddenly, before Harry got the chance to question him further, the man stood up abruptly walking towards the door. He paused a moment to look back at Harry.

"You should not move yet, I healed a fair amount but you had too much damage to heal it all, your ribs are no longer broken but they are still quite bruised. I left your ankle as well" he stated, "What is your name little one?"

Harry bristled at the nickname, he hated being reminded of his small stature, "Harry" he replied shortly.

"Hmm such a common name for one as pretty as you" the man murmured, "never mind, I am Leonor"

Harry wasn't sure what to make of the Leonor's comment so he decided to ignore it. "Um…thank you Leonor for..for healing me…." He trailed off unsure how to ask the next question.

Leonard smirked at his discomfort. "Go ahead ask whatever it is"

Harry swallowed, "er…Not to be ungrateful or anything but why if you healed all of my other…um injuries did you leave my ankle broken?" he darted a look at Leonard expecting annoyance or resentment.

Instead Leonor's smirk grew, "Why to make it harder for you to escape little one"

With that he turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Harry stared in shock after him. "Whaa…" his mind felt like it was malfunctioning again.

Harry had been in tight spots before. But somehow this seemed much worse.

Much, much worse.


	3. A new set of Rules

**So here is the next chapter. It's a shorter one as I am working on posting chapters frequently for two stories. Thanks to everyone who favorited. followed or reviewed! **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2: a new set of rules**

_"…__as long as we know we're trapped, we still have a chance to escape."  
― __Sara Grant__, __Neva_

The following day passed almost peacefully, well if you could count being constantly on edge and doubting your decision as peaceful. Leonor could not recall that last time he had felt so unsure of things. Harry maintained a stoic silence, only really speaking if asked a direct question, otherwise keeping to the bedroom.

Leonor was not sure what to feel about this, he vacillated between relief (that this human was not going to disrupt the quiet he had sought out), irritation (because little had changed in his life and that had been the whole point on saving the battered boy), curiosity (to why the boy reacted the way he did, or said what he did, or stared at certain things longer than others), guilt (for all but telling the boy he had to stay here), and confidence (that he had every right to do with boy what he wanted, if not for him the child would be dead, therefore he was his. This was the general view of most immortals, if they did choose to 'adopt' a mortal; the mortal became that immortal's property).

He heard the faint creak of Harry getting up out of bed and the quiet opening of the bedroom door. He kept himself from looking up from the tome he was reading, knowing from the sound of the little one's pounding heart he was inching closer.

Leonor had finished healing Harry completely earlier this morning. He had only said that about Harry's ankle to rile him up, the reason he hadn't finished healing all of the boy's injuries straight off, was simply that no mortal could consume that much immortal blood without consequences. Hence, waiting to heal the bruised ribs and broken ankle. Not that he had any notion of letting the boy leave, but it's not like he needed a broken ankle to prevent that. Even if Harry had not been severally malnourished, he had no hope in out running an immortal.

"It is still warm. You should eat" Leonor said continuing to read. Leonor had left a bowl stew out for him. Another misconception was that vampires or immortals did not need to eat besides blood. This was false, if anything they needed to eat more than most mortals because the blood they consumed needed extra calories to be used. The blood in itself was not nutrition, it served to quench their thirst and provide the supernatural benefits most of their kind enjoyed.

He finally looked up when he heard Harry pause. His bright green eyes flitted to the plate then away quickly scanning the room. Leonor could only assume he was looking for plausible escape routes. He glanced back at the table again, his eyes full of uncertainty.

Leonor sighed, biting back his irritation. He reminded himself of the condition he had found the boy in, it only made sense he was still a little skittish. Perhaps, providing him with an explanation to his requests would help? "The blood I fed you, drew what little energy your body could provide to heal you. Without proper nourishment I doubt you would last another three days"

Harry hesitated once more but nodded and quietly pulled out the chair, before gingerly sitting down and starting to eat. 'He is likely still stiff, especially since he stayed in bed all day' Leonor realized.

They sat in silence while Harry ate and Leonor read; eventually Harry's quiet voice spoke up.

"umm…" Harry started but stopped as if unsure he was permitted to ask questions.

Leonor raised his eyes to meet Harry's "Yes, you can ask little one. If I do not wish to answer. I will not."

Harry studied him a moment as if to find the truth in his statement, satisfied with what he saw he started again, "You said you healed me with blood?" the question timid.

Leonor paused a moment, might as well tell the boy. He had healed enough physically that if he reacted badly it would not inhibit his recovery that much. "That is correct, my blood to be exact."

Those green eyes widened slightly but he remained seated and ate another spoon full of stew before giving voice to his thoughts, "O-ok, are you, I mean what… I mean, are you a vampire? Please I mean no offense by it…I mean if you are one…not saying that you are for sure" Harry stuttered, rambling in his confused wording.

Leonor smiled; the human really was rather adorable. "Shh…its fine, I am not offended, yes and no"

Harry just looked more confused but held his silence.

'Good' Leonor thought he approved of patience. "I am what is called an immortal"

Harry's eyes widened once more, and his face paled slightly but he remained silent.

"Have you ever heard of us?" Leonor asked curiously. He did not know how advanced the mortals had become, he was not sure if the immortal's existence was common knowledge or not in this realm. Yes, he had lived here for many years but he had never interacted with them. Well, outside draining them of their life source, that is.

Harry shook his head as a negative.

"How to explain…hmm, yes, that will work" Leonor pondered under his breath, he noted with surprise that Harry had appeared to have heard him. But that was not possible was it? A mortal should not be able to hear the sonic sound waves produced by an immortal whispering, but it appeared Harry had. Yet another curious thing about his little one. He directed his attention back to what they had been talking about. "I suppose you could call Immortal's, true vampires, or the first ones…" he began he noted Harry was now listening with rapt attention.

"We are not really what you wizards label as vampires; a comparison between us is like comparing your Albert Einstein to a rabid dog. What you recognize as vampires are mortals who have been passed along a curse. Similar to your version of the werewolf I believe. We, immortals were created by magic herself. She wished to celebrate the creation of magic and magical beings but found that they were flawed, fight and destroy each other eventually, or become sick and dying off. So she created us, the immortals. Our purpose is to gather knowledge and keep track of the state of her other creatures. Basically to keep her informed so that she might decide on what course of action to take, does that answer your question?" Leonor explained.

"Yes, thank you" Harry replied, laying his spoon down in the now empty bowl, he arched his back in a cat like motion, likely twisting to stretch his cramped muscles out. He glanced back at the bedroom then at the entrance to the shack uncertainly.

"If you want to take a walk you are welcome to" Leonor told him, chuckling to himself at the look of disbelief on the little one's face, "Don't go too far."

Harry nodded again and quickly stood up almost knocking his chair over in his haste, he blushed again before carefully straightening it. He walked with quick steps towards the entrance, his gait awkward as if he was trying to stop himself from breaking into a run. Leonor did not comment just watched him exit the door.

Oh he understood perfectly well that Harry thought he was being given free reign, and likely thought that this was his chance to escape. Leonor chuckled again, as if he would make it that easy.

Idly he picked up his book again. "I wonder what he will think of my wards."

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Harry felt like crying in frustration. He hadn't believed his luck when Leonor told him he was free to go outside. He knew it was too good to be true!

He stubbornly pushed his hand against what appeared to be air. What it was instead was an invisible barrier, a completely immovable invisible barrier.

"Fuck!" he cried out in anger at his newest obstacle kicking at it viciously. All that did was cause pain to race up his leg. "Dammit…" he sighed sinking to the ground not caring if he got his pants wet from the damp leaves. He didn't even have his wand with him. Leonor must have taken it when he was unconscious he realized.

He hated this. He hated feeling so bloody helpless and weak. He had been ready to die; he had been looking forward to it, in fact. But now, that he was still very much alive and no longer existing in a constant state of pain he thought he might have been a tad hasty on that desire. Still he'd prefer it to existing in this state of fear.

Knowing he was trapped, knowing he had almost zero chances of getting away, not knowing what Leonor wanted with him. It was frying his already frazzled nerves.

'Okay, Stop. Calm down and think. You are not going to do any good feeling sorry for yourself,' He admonished himself before forcing himself to stand up. 'Well I might as well see how far this barrier stretches around' he decided. With that he began to walk in a circle, keeping a hand on the barrier.

Twenty minutes later he came to where he started. It was close to a kilometer in circumference, a fairly decent size space. It wasn't horrible he supposed, much better than the room he was locked in at the Dursleys, or god forbid the cupboard. He shuddered, no use thinking about that now. For that matter he wasn't really sure what he would be returning to even if he did escape.

He would not go back to the Dursley's that was for sure. Maybe he could owl Viktor and ask if he could crash with him for a bit. He knew Viktor had his own flat in Sofia; he blushed at the thought of actually getting to spend time with the Bulgarian seeker alone. He hadn't seen him face to face since fourth year, but they had kept in touch. Harry knew he could trust him, he had trusted him enough to let him be his first after all.

He sighed, not that it mattered since the barrier was apparently faultless.

He pushed his anger at Leonor down. The immortal had saved his life, he should be thankful. Yes, he was thankful, but that didn't mean he appreciated being imprisoned. He went back and forth between feeling resentful of his captor and worried for him. If that wasn't the most ridiculous thing he had ever felt, he did not know what was. Leonor just seemed so sad sometimes, almost as if he wasn't really there. He sighed again and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. He really needed a haircut, he thought absently.

Well there had to be a way out. Leonor came and went, just how did he get through the wards? Harry had not seen him use a wand, although he was likely rather proficient at wandless magic. What was the most important thing to the immortal...blood...? I wonder." He contemplated feeling hopeful for the first time since he had awakened.

Well it was worth a try. Leonor would have to do better than some stupid barrier if he wanted to stop him.


	4. The Great escapeor Not

**Hey so here is another chapter. This is a short one. For this story the chapters will likely be shorter but more plentiful. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I have tried to answer the reviews best as I can for those of you that I could send PM's that is what I did there were a few that I couldn't so I will answer those quickly here**

**adenoide****- you are very right. they do need a nice long chat, silly characters always seem to get themselves into trouble by neglecting their communication skills. **

**Reluctant reader-**** yes this takes place after 5th year. and yes I am aware that the vampire angle is overdone. I however still enjoy this magical creature so I will be continuing with this admittedly overdone creature. Hope it does not deter you from continued reading! maybe next story I will take up your suggestion. Thanks for your review. **

**Thanks everyone else you gave a review! Always appreciated. Enjoy! **

**Chapter 3: the Great escape…or not**

_We are not trapped by our thoughts. What we generally do, however, is create thoughts that trap us."  
― __Joshua David Stone__, __A Beginner's Guide to the Path of Ascension (The Ascension Series)_

Harry's hands shook slightly as he stared down at the rather sharp looking pile of rocks located a few feet below. _'I can't believe I am now participating in the game of hurt Harry'_ he thought despondently. He shook his head; he had to do this for his plan to work. It was his only option.

After Harry had come up with his rather far-fetched escape plan, he had scoured the enclosed area around the cabin; he had been in luck and found an old dug well. A well bed, that had been largely caved in so that instead of there being a long, long drop there was a mainly filled in one. The drop was five feet at the most with a lovely bunch of sharp slippery rocks at the bottom.

For this plan of Harry's, he needed to hurt himself bad enough that Leonor would consent to giving him blood again, he had already stashed a cup underneath the bed so that part was taken care of, now for the important part.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes tight and let himself fall. He felt his stomach lurch and a sharp pain ricochet up his leg. '_Yup, broke my leg'_ he thought. It was rather disturbing to be hoping for a large, garish injury, he seriously hoped this would be worth it. It took him another hour and a half to drag himself up out of the hole and drag his now incredibly in pain body, back to the cabin.

Leonor looked up as he collapsed in the door. "What the hell happened to you?" before swooping down on Harry's collapsed bloodied form.

"Um….tripped?" Harry panted out, trying to look innocent. He watched Leonor's face worriedly. He didn't think the ancient would think anything of it. The plan of Harry's really was too off wall for any rational being to think of.

"You tripped?" Leonor stated in a dead pan voice raising his eyebrow. Harry didn't allow the guilty feeling in his gut to translate to his face. He simply nodded this as accurate.

"Unbelievable. I do not know why I even bother. You must be the most delicate, hard to keep alive being I have ever had the misfortune of coming across" Leonor muttered, sounding somewhat despaired.

"Sorry?" Harry croaked out, "ow" he whimpered as he tried to push himself up.

"Oh for Magia sake! Lie still" Leonor muttered, carefully picking him up, a steady flow of what sounded like Spanish curses flowed from his lips as he moved Harry back to the bed he had been occupied for the last week.

Harry closed his eyes, going over the plan once more. Batting the guilt he was feeling down. He had to get away, Leonor had continued to skirt the question of what was going to happen to him, and that could only mean bad things. Harry could not continue to live under someone's thumb. His whole life had been lived that way, and well, look how great that had gone.

Harry cracked an eye open and saw Leonor biting his wrist, "Could I have a glass of water…to wash it down with? I really hate the taste" he asked hopefully.

Leonor snarled something else, rolling his eyes "Fine, drink this first. I'd rather Not waste it dripping all over the floor to fetch your holiness some water" he pushed his profusely bleeding wrist at Harry.

Harry nodded and obediently let the blood fill his mouth, when it had he nodded to Leonor, to indicate he had finished. Leonor continued to mutter but left the room to go and fetch some water. Harry moved as fast as he could to grab his stashed cup and let half of the blood in his mouth enter the cup, before replacing it and swallowing the last half. He had managed to settle back on the bed when Leonor re-entered, carrying the cup of water.

"Thanks" Harry croaked gratefully taking the cup and downing the entire contents. He hadn't lied exactly….he really did hate the taste of blood. He had had way too much experiencing tasting his own.

Leonor studied him for a long moment, before sighing again. "Be more careful. I do not wish to have to continue fixing you up. I am leaving for a short period I have some…business in town. I will be gone for a few hours tonight."

Harry nodded, not quite believing his luck. He had not yet figured out how he was going to sneak out with Leonor on the premise.

Leonor gave him one more glance and sighing left the room.

Harry took a deep breath and willed his heart to stop thudding. He hated deceiving people, even people who might want to do him harm. He shook his head. He had committed to this plan, it likely wouldn't work but he had to try.

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Leonor narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his once again battered charge, who lay innocently blinking those iridescent green eyes at him. Harry was planning something, likely something incredibly stupid. His human was rather confusing; he seemed clever when he spoke to Leonor. This last week Harry had started to talk more openly with him, and yet he continued to try and pull incredibly reckless stunts. Leonor was surprised he hadn't killed him out of sheer frustration already.

Well, this was what Leonor had wanted; there was no doubt that Harry was keeping his life more interesting at least.

But back to his suspicions. There is no way Harry would have asked him for anything, even a glass of water, and although the boy was clumsy at times, even he could not have managed to sustain those injuries on pure chance.

He had already decided to give the boy an opening to see what it was he was planning. Hence his 'business in town,' although he really did need to go into town soon. He had already slipped away three nights ago and dined on a rather tasty Australian backpacker. He appreciated southern cuisine.

Leonor waited and watched Harry the rest of the evening. The boy was doing a fair attempt at acting nonchalant, calm even, but his heart beat gave him away. It was erratic, speeding up then suddenly slowing, as if the boy was mentally stopping himself from a panic attack. At eight Leonor made a show of excusing himself and walked out the door. He walked until he hit the barrier and then settled down to wait.

Even if Harry chose another spot to try and exit from, his sensors would let him know. He sighed perhaps he should actually talk to the child. Despite Harry's reluctance to speak or his rather stubborn petulance, Leonor could not help but notice that he was starting to actually like the child. He was stubborn, amusing and unpredictable. He was a mass of contradictions. Maybe it was time to show him some trust. After all could he expect trust if he was not willing to give it.

It was something to ponder, at the very least.

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Harry waited an hour after Leonor left. He had to stop and consciously calm himself down. He really hoped this would work; Leonor would be fine without him. He could find some other helpless stray to take in. It would NOT be Harry. He was not going to continue to be the weak one, the victim, oh no, he was not.

Harry took the cup he had stashed earlier out of hiding, and carefully started to smear the blood over his skin. He forced himself not to wrinkle his nose in disgust. He knew this plan was rather mental, but he was hoping that the wards were tuned to Leonor's blood and that they would only take a shallow reading. He hoped that having his skin coated in the blood would be enough.

When he was finished he grabbed the book Leonor had been reading. He took a pencil (oddly enough Leonor seemed to prefer the muggle writing utensils) and scrawled a quick note inside the cover.

Thank you for everything…I am sorry.

Harry

He tucked it back where he found it. He hoped Leonor would find it sooner rather than later. With that he quickly exited the cabin. His leg was completely healed. Leonor's blood truly was a miracle drug. He jogged as quietly as he could to where he remembered the barrier being. Taking a deep breath he stepped across it.

'It worked!' He could not believe it. He truly did not think that it would actually work. Sure he had hoped…but it actually worked! Harry felt like doing a happy dance.

His happiness was short lived however, for when he looked up he came face to face with his captor. And Leonor did not looked amused…in the least.

"Hi?" Harry finally said after a few minutes of a silent stare off. His heart was pounding. His thoughts plummeting, he was going to die. He had pushed it too far this time. Leonor would not be so benevolent after this.

Leonor's brow furrowed further,

"I think we need to talk."


	5. Painful truthes

**Here is another chapter for your perusal. Read, review and enjoy!**

**Chapt 4: Painful truths**

_We are bound by the secrets we share."  
― __Zoë Heller__, __What Was She Thinking? [Notes on a Scandal]_

….

_"__We need to talk"_

_…__._

Harry took a deep shuddering breath trying to calm his beating heart. 'Calm down!' he ordered himself, 'If he hasn't killed you yet, there is no reason to believe he is going to now.' Somehow this thought did little to reassure him. "Ok" he croaked his voice sounding much more scared and nervous, then he would have liked.

Leonor studied him for a long moment, before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose, in an almost bored tone he commented, "You know, you really are not worth all of this trouble. I must have truly lost my mind to continue to chase after you."

Harry's eyes widened, maybe he had been reassured to early, but he was not going to plead for Leonor to spare his life, he would at least keep some of his dignity, so instead of doing what a rational person might do and trying to convince the all powerful man in front of him, of his worth, he did the opposite. "Why are you? That is what I do not understand…I am nothing to someone like you…so what is it you want from me?" He asked steeling his voice to sound more confident then he really was.

"And that right there is why" Leonor answered cryptically.

Harry scowled with frustration, letting out an irritated huff, "Why won't anyone ever just give me a straight answer? It's always hard to decipher riddles, or cryptically vague answers….if I did not know better I would swear you where related to Dumbledore."

Leonor chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender, "Oh my little prince, I can answer if you like, I just don't believe you will be pleased by my answers," he paused in which time, Harry stubbornly jutted out his chin in defiance, Leonor gave another chuckle before continuing, "Very well then, I am keeping you around because I find you amusing."

Harry gave him a look of disbelief; "I'm alive because I AMUSE you?" his voice rang out, stressing the fact that Harry for one did not find this answer amusing in the least.

"Yes" Leonor answered, "As for why I initially saved your life….well I suppose I was bored… and perhaps a tad lonely."

This admission stopped Harry's further disgruntled protests, over his existence of being Leonor's amusement. This last sentence rang of deeper un-expressed emotions and Harry would never be cruel enough to mock someone for their pain. He sighed letting his shoulders slump and sank wearily to the leave strewn ground beneath him. "I'm sorry…I did not mean to inconvenience you further…" he stopped when Leonor arched an eyebrow as if to call his bluff.

"Ok, so maybe I did mean to inconvenience you….but I did not mean to add to your pain, I-I guess I can understand, well, I guess I can understand what that's like" Harry kept his gaze firmly planted on his knees, rubbing his hand back and forth on his right kneecap in a self-soothing motion. He looked up suddenly as he spoke the next sentence, "but I cannot continue to be held as a prisoner. Not knowing what will happen, not having any control…it's…well its worse than death." He stated with conviction, the fire returning to his emerald eyes.

Leonor stared off into this distance, before surprisingly giving a minuet nod and folding his legs so that he was sitting next to Harry. Harry looked at him in shock; he really had never pictured this magnificent, regal ancient to sit on the ground. The absurdity of the situation caught up with him and he could not help but let a small chuckle escape him.

Leonor arched his eyebrow again, this time as if to ask why he had to put up with this. It was so reminiscent of Snape, that it only made Harry laugh harder. Leonor patiently waited until Harry's slight hysteria faded, leaving Harry slightly breathless and flushed.

"Are you quite done?" Leonor asked looking almost worried, that Harry had perhaps cracked from the stress and was now certifiable. Harry bit back the last of his laughter and managed to give Leonor a solemn nod. Oh, it would be priceless to watch Leonor and Snape have a conversation. He wondered who could out glower the other or even better, which one would be more skilled at swooping. He had to admit both men could be decidedly bat like at times.

"Do you care to explain what that rather out-of-character display was about?" Leonor asked, his tone bored but Harry saw genuine curiosity in his slate grey eyes.

"Sorry, you just sort of reminded me of a professor I have…or had" Harry trailed off his expression changing from apologetic amusement to misery, as he remembered that he was now expelled so he would not actually be allowed to taint Snape's dungeons anymore. He was suddenly hit with what a great loss not being able to go back to Hogwarts actually was….no more flying, no more fighting with Draco Malfoy, no more trips to Honeydukes with Ron and Hermione, no more stolen visits with Hagrid…Harry blinked back the sudden wetness in his eyes. 'Merlin' he scolded himself, 'get it together your becoming a bloody girl!'

"Let's come to an agreement…I will tell you one detail of my life for every detail that you share of yours, does this sound fair?" Leonor offered waiting for Harry to consider.

"I suppose, though I think I am getting the short end, you have lived a lot longer than me, you have more inconsequential details to share" Harry reluctantly agreed.

"True, it is not my fault you are so young" Leonor replied his smile teasing.

Harry crinkled his brow, "How old are you exactly?"

"Is that your first question, little one?" Leonor asked his voice still amused.

"I wish you wouldn't call me that….I am not THAT short" Harry grumbled, "and yes I guess it is."

"I am very old…" Leonor paused until Harry looked like he was about to debate that this was a non-answer, "I am close to 3000 years old Harry."

Harry gaped at him, "3000?"

Leonor simply smiled and nodded, before asking his first question, "and how old are you Harry?"

"Fifteen, as three days ago…anyway" Harry answered weakly, still trying to wrap his head around being alive for three thousand years. Hell, he was damn proud he had even made it to fifteen….but three thousand…he shook his head, he was not sure he would WANT to live that long. No wonder Leonor was bored.

He opened his mouth to voice and the next question and that was how they continued. Harry would ask one, and most likely end up shocked by the answer, and Leonor would parry. At first they stuck to lighter, safer questions but eventually they got to the more sensitive topics.

Leonor quietly told Harry how he had met his wife and mate, Mencia. He described how he had met her quite by accident. He was too meet and be wed to another at the time, and the night of their bonding ceremony, she had been in the crowd. He wistfully recalled how he knew the first moment he laid eyes on her. It had of course caused quite the scandal, but it mattered not. He described briefly the thousand years of happiness they had had together, and her subsequent pregnancy.

Harry had interrupted timidly, asking why; if they had been together for that long why it took a thousand years to have a child. He was afraid he had gone too far, but Leonor smiled patiently and stated, that because he had broken off an already agreed to bonding, the scorned mate had demanded retribution. It was her right of course and the court had sentenced them with one thousand years of infertility. Harry nodded in understanding, but personally thought that this was a rather harsh punishment.

Leonor then struggled through the despair and absolute desolation he had felt when he had come back home from a scouting trip for the Prince, to find his wife and unborn child dead. Slain in the most hideous fashion. He choked his way through the following years of desperation and the despair at not being able to end his life. Quietly, but with more truth then Harry could have ever hoped for, he explained what had brought him to the rash decision of saving Harry's life.

Then it was Harry's turn. He did not hold back as he had with every other person in his life. He thought it only fair, Leonor had bared his soul, and Harry would not dishonor him by refusing to also do so. So he spoke for the first time, on the horrors of his home life, the lies, beatings and neglect that had been his life for ten years of his first eleven years, he described the joy he had felt when he discovered he was a wizard and the culture shock that followed soon after. He explained the fear and confusion he had, entering this new world in which he knew nothing about, but everyone knew, or thought they did everything about him. His learning of Voldmort, his parent's murders, seeing a picture of them for the first time in his life.

He described the huge weight he felt of everyone's expectations, the adventures, fights and betrayals. The losses. He spoke until he was hoarse and then some. Leonor made a very good listener, he did not try to interrupt or give his own opinion, he did not look at Harry with revulsion or pity, hatred or fear, he just listened. Harry realized that this is what he had needed, perhaps what he had needed for a very long time. Finally, he finished with his tales of woe and fell silent.

They sat side by side watching the remaining light fade into the safer shades of night.

"May I ask you another question" Leonor finally said.

Harry, who had been lost in his own head, looked over at the deceptively young looking man, "You might as well, I do not believe I have any more secrets to hide"

"Where do you plan to go if you leave?" Leonor asked casually.

"I-I don't really know, I had thought maybe an old….friend's for a while, after that I do not know" Harry admitted sighing dejectedly, when faced with how ill planned out his escape really had been.

"Is this friend's place safe? Will the ones you are fleeing from not find you? That Dumbledore and Voldmort, not think to look for you there?" Leonor asked skeptically.

"Yes, I know so it was a stupid plan. And yes, you are right they would probably find me fairly quickly….I-I just did not know who else to trust" Harry stated quietly.

"I will not continue to hold you here against your will Harry, I have told you my past, I know yours…if that trust is not enough then there is no point of you staying" Leonor answered staring calmly at Harry.

"It's not that I don't trust you…." Harry stopped looking sheepish, "Ok, so it's not like I don't trust you NOW, but I can't stay here. I can't keep hiding, I will have to go back eventually, and as much as I hate it I am prophesized to be the only one who can end this stupid war."

"Do you really think you have any chance of winning against someone who has decades of experience on you, an army at his back, when you yourself said this Dumbledore has failed to train you? Or even tell you what is really going on? It is a suicide mission. You must realize this." Leonor reasoned.

"I know. But what can I do? I cannot learn what I need to survive in the time I have, but I cannot just sit back and let people continue to die, just because I am afraid to do so" Harry answered sounding resigned.

"What if there was another option?" Leonor asked, his face blank not betraying any of his underlying emotion.

"And what would that option be exactly?" Harry asked cautiously, with no small amount of suspicion.

"Agree to accompany me back to my realm. Time passes different there, I can offer you training, education in return simply agree to listen and obey what you are being instructed" Leonor explained.

Harry regarded him, trying to pick out if the immortal was deceiving him, "and I can come back when I want? This instruction will not make me go against my morals?" Harry asked.

Leonor sighed and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "silly humans and their morals," but nodded and stated in a louder voice, "No, you will have the right to refuse to do something, but if you do your training will be over. And yes, you can come back when you want, but again time passes very different there, ten years there is one month here."

"Wha…wow…so when you said you were three thousand years?..." Harry ventured.

"Human time" Leonor answered simply, "So yes or no? I will not offer again."

Harry paused to think about his offer. It really did not seem like an attempt to trick him, and really if he said yes and they ended up killing him, it would not be all that different then going to face Voldmort unprepared and dying anyway. Decision made, he answered before he could change his mind,

"Yes, I will go"

Leonor's face lit of in a genuine smile, "Excellent"


	6. What lives in the Shadows

**Here is the next chapter, this is a shorter one. It just seemed like the place to stop. Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows!**

**I belive I answered most of the reviews posted, I will of answer the ones that I can't PM here...**

**Adeniode: yes Harry is still a self sacrificing, too kind hearted fool at this point. But he grew up abused and used to being used and taken advantage of, it will take time to break him of this habit. Hopefully his time in the shadow realm will aid him in this! thanks for your reveiw**

**Now onwards to the story! **

**...**

**Chap 5: What lives in the shadows**

_"__Some people seemed to get all sunshine, and some all shadow…"  
― __Louisa May Alcott__, __Little Women_

Harry tried not to gape as he took in his new surroundings. Leonor had wasted little time after Harry agreed to leave what he knew behind, they had in fact left the very next day.

He carefully looked around at this surprising environment. When Leonor had told him that all immortal's lived in a completely different plain of existence, one that was called the Shadow realm, well Harry had expected….shadows. Or at least a dark, dreary, foreboding place. He most certainly hadn't expected this. It was almost ironic really.

The Shadow realm, was the antithesis of dark and dreary. The space that Harry stood now was awash in sunlight; it gleamed and shone off of a world of shimmering glass, marble and sharp metals. There was some warmer stone and brick in the mix but really the place looked like a mix between, the more classical architecture and flavor of Barcelona and the more modern whimsy of Yokohama (well at least from what Harry read, when he stole his Aunt's discarded, complimentary, travel magazine from where she had tossed it).

Harry was almost afraid to step on the cobblestone street, in fear that he would sully it or tarnish its almost obsessive cleanliness.

Leonor chuckled softly at his hesitance, "Not what you expected?" he asked amusement ringing in his voice.

"Um…er….not really….why exactly is it called the Shadow realm if it's so…um" Harry struggled to voice his surprise in a way that would not insult his new 'friend' (not that he was exactly friends with the man but it was the closest descriptor that would fit at the moment).

"Bright? Warm? Sunny?" Leonor supplied quirking a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"Yeah" Harry agreed, awkwardly running his hand through his hair.

Leonor grasped his hand before he could do it again, "Please desist with that plebian behavior. This will be one of the first things I strive to teach you….decorum" He stated forcing the captured arm back down to Harry's side and ignoring the glare that the teen sent him.

"As for your questions, the immortal, Diavolino who happened to be one of the Prince's favorites, also happened to be rather fond of that muggle science Psychology. He thought it would be amusing to name the realm 'Shadow realm' as the theory muggles believe at that time, was such that; one's shadow was the part of oneself, that they did not acknowledge or which remained unconscious. As this realm is neither known nor acknowledged by most mortal's, Diavolino thought himself rather witty. Not to mention that shadow can mean dark and most mortals would not argue that those of us who reside in this realm are indeed dark. Does that answer your question little one?"

Harry didn't even bother to protest at his now familiar moniker, it's not like it helped anyway. Instead he brought forth the next question that was plaguing him about this realm, "Where is everyone? Is it always so...well deserted?" He gestured to the sparkling yet silent streets in front of them.

"No, it is not. It is however just after two, it is more than likely that most citizens are at court" Leonor answered, starting to walk gracefully forward.

Harry just stopped himself from stumbling after the infuriating immortal in his haste to catch up. He once again resisted the urge to scowl in favor of getting more answers out of Leonor. "Court?"

"Yes, court" Leonor answered continuing forward.

"Would you mind explaining what court entails, or is that too direct for you?" Harry ground out in frustration, still struggling to keep up.

Leonor smirked at him. Harry glared trying to remind himself it was not wise to kick something that could tear your head off without even blinking, instead he held his silence. Seemingly satisfied with his own superiority, Leonor chose to concede and answer the raven haired teen's question. "The Prince hold's court three times a week, all of his subjects residing in the realm are obligated to attend. There is discussion of inter-realm issues, news from other realms...if those scouts are present and general socializing."

Harry made a face, "that sounds rather dull, not to mention doesn't it waste a lot of time?"

Leonor shrugged, "perhaps it may seem that way to an outsider...but it is key to keeping things peaceful and functioning inside the realm. While immortals cannot actually kill one another if they have a dispute or cannot resolve matters, they can turn their ire on their 'enemies' favored. Having court this often allows for us to work smaller disagreements out instead of letting them brew. Socializing allows for various citizens of the realm to strike deals, forge alliances...ect"

Harry thought about what Leonor was saying for a minute, he suppose it made sense, but he still couldn't get the picture of all of the useless ministry meetings out of his head. (while had had never actually had to attend one of these functions, he had heard enough from Mr. Weasley, and various others to instinctually know that this was not the type of thing he would enjoy). "Um...you said favored? What exactly did you mean by that?"

Leonor gave him yet another smirk, this one bordering on predatory, "why my little prince, that would refer to you. I am not the only immortal who has come upon a mortal of some species and decided to bring it with"

Harry felt his hackles rise, at the implied ownership. "I do NOT belong to you" he ground out, stopping in place.

Leonor smirked once again, "Perhaps...though I would advise you against announcing such things while you are here in the realm."

Harry glared at the immortal before reluctantly continuing to follow him, "And why is that?"

Leonor smirk turned positively viscous as he turned to answer Harry, "Not everyone is a lenient or kind as I am little one"

Harry bit back his rising indignation. He was here to learn, he was here to become strong enough to survive... he had survived Voldmort's assassination attempts all these years, he had survived and weathered Dumbledore's manipulations, he could put up with one irritatingly, smug, superior immortal. "Fine"

"Good boy" Leonor stated knowing that this would further provoke the raven haired beauty. The teen really was the most amusing when he was fighting to hold his temper in check. "I am taking you to meet the prince, as I have been away for quite some time it is only expected that I go and ask for admittance again. You will hold your tongue and refrain from saying something rude or ignorant that might offend his highness" Leonor glared at Harry when he sensed the teen was about to protest. "You will only answer when spoken too, and you will refrain from denying my ownership...unless you wish to be claimed by someone far less lenient and respectful then I."

Harry was not stupid he could read between the lines. He really did not want to find out what happened to an unclaimed human in this realm, so he nodded his ascent at Leonor.

"Wonderful...follow me" Leonor gave him a genuine smile leading him through a grey stone gate, into the lush green courtyard beyond. He continued across the courtyard before stopping in front of a large elegant building that stood in the center. The building was enormous, it easily over shadowed all of the various structures in its wake, made of a combination of glass and steel. Thousands of windows winked down on the pair, who stood in front of two large steel doors, covered with various intricate carvings and adornments.

In its cold splendor there was no denying the structure was breath taking. Leonor rapped sharply on the center of the door, his knocks ringing out against the un-natural stillness of the place. The doors swung open revealing two sets of guards, all pale, beautiful and utterly terrifying.

"Marquees Diaz and bound to see Prince Kiran and Princess Serine" Leonor stated in a bored, flat voice.

Had Harry not been watching the guards expressions closely he might have missed the quick widening of their eyes and surprised quirk to their mouths.

"Very well, please follow me" one of the larger, heftier looking guards stated. Harry had noticed that so far most of the immortal's he had seen where of the more lithe, slender build (not that he had seen a whole lot of them), but this guard's stature definitely leant closer to the weight lifting, body builder type. Harry swallowed down his nerves, and tried vainly to reassure himself that he would not end up getting himself killed in the next few minutes. One had to stay positive after all.

Leonor's gait did not falter as he followed imperiously after the guard, Harry trailed along behind him. They passed room after room, all as cold and put together as the outside of the building might suggest. It was a far cry from the burrow, which was cluttered and warm. Harry could not help but feel slightly self conscious about his rather scruffy jeans and baggy shirt, which hung off his thin frame. It did not help that every person (or Harry assumed immortal) they passed appeared to take fashion advice from the Malfoys of the world.

They finally slowed to come to a stop in front of another pair of intimidating doors, these ones a dark, solid oak. The guard told them to wait, while he entered into the room beyond. Harry managed to just glimpse the decadent and rather crowded room within, the noise slipping out when the door opened.

After a long moment, the guard reappeared and bowed his head in respect towards Leonor, completely ignoring Harry, "They are ready for you my lord."

Harry had to fight the disgust at hearing that particular title addressed to Leonor, it reminded him far too much of a certain self-appointed lord back home. Leonor gave a curt nod and stepped purposefully through the door. The noise of the various occupants dropped suddenly to silence.

Leonor placed a hand discreetly behind Harry's back and urged him forward before continuing down a long carpeted aisle. Harry kept his eyes focussed on Leonor's back ignoring the hard, inquisitive stares directed at them (hard at him, inquisitive at Leonor).

They stopped once again and looked up at two regal looking figures sitting leisurely upon delicate looking golden thrones. There was a long silence as both figures surveyed them, their faces blank perfection.

The beautiful black haired princess stood suddenly, a joyous smile spreading across her delicate features,

"Brother! You have returned!"


	7. Silent Protests

**So beacuse the last chapter was so short, here is a another one, probably should have just waited adn posted this with last chapter but alas...hope you enjoy. AND REVIEW...(no I am not begging...okay maybe a little bit)**

**Chapter 6: Silent Protests **

_"__When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie."  
― __Yevgeny Yevtushenko_

"My lady, you look well" Leonor replied bowing from the waist down and kissing the Princesses proffered hand, before straightening and bowing again at the prince, "Highness."

Prince Kiran let a small smile grace his face before replying, "Leonor, it has been much too long. You have decided to rejoin us?"

"With your permission, my liege" Leonor replied keeping his head bowed in respect.

"Now, now Leonor. None of that...we are practically family. I am so very pleased that you have chosen to return home, your sister more so" Prince Kiran waved away Leonor's formalities.

"May I enquire what has finally convinced you to come out of solitude brother? I must admit, I feared that your absence would be permanent" Princess Selene stated, returning to her seat.

"You may sister. I will admit, I was not sure I would return however my circumstances have...changed" Leonor admitted, holding his sister's enquiring gaze.

Princess Selene raised an eyebrow in question, Harry thought that she very much resembled her brother at the moment. She was quite similar in looks to Leonor; dark hair, pale skin, dainty, what one would expect from a princess, if you could disregard her rather sharp facial expressions. Her husband, the prince, was quite the opposite; having warm blond hair, kind eyes, tanned skin and a rather open smile. Harry could not venture a guess, how Prince Kiran was able to hold his own in their marriage. The princess was rather intimidating.

Leonor coughed slightly to draw Harry's attention out of his musings, "I have chosen to take a bound" he replied to his sister's silent question and not so gently pushed Harry forward, so that he was standing in front of the two royals.

Harry blushed as he stumbled slightly at the unexpected 'help' Leonor gave him, but managed to refrain from glowering at the smug looking immortal, "Your graces" he said quietly, bowing as he had seen Leonor do.

Selene smiled wickedly before standing again and approaching the still teen. "Well, well Leonor, I must say I never thought I'd see the day...I always thought you were against the idea?" she stated her voice veering into snide.

Leonor shrugged but made no move to defend himself or answer the question.

Selene slowly circled Harry, running a cold finger along his shoulders before grasping him rather roughly by the chin and forcing his head up, Harry bit back his startled cry. "Well, I must admit you do have good taste brother, he is a gorgeous little thing, isn't he?" she stated directing this at her brother, as if Harry was simply an object not able to understand. "Is he well trained?"

Harry could not help but let a hiss of displeasure out at this. How dare she? Sure she was much more powerful then he, and sure she was royalty but she had no right to treat him like an animal. His face mirrored his thoughts.

Before Selene could voice her displeasure at Harry's disrespectful display, she was interrupted by the sound of deep, warm chuckles coming from her husband, "Selene darling, I don't think he much appreciates your opinion. Well, Leonor I must say I approve, this one is a little spit fire. I do not think he will be cowed so easily" Prince Kiran stated ignoring his glowering wife, to smile warmly in Harry's direction. "I quite like him."

Leonor looked surprised at the prince's statement but gestured at Harry to come back and stand next to him, Harry did so without protest, thinking he probably shouldn't push his luck at the moment. While the prince may have given him a favorable pass, the look coming from the princess was anything but.

The princess finally pulled her icy stare from Harry's direction and re-directed it towards Leonor, "Well, brother I must insist on you attending the Festivities tomorrow evening. You have perfect timing...we can celebrate your return along with the recent acquiesces of the Herndu realm."

"Of course we will be there sister" Leonor replied, answering for both himself and Harry, although his sisters invite was clearly only for one.

"Splendid! It has been far too long since we have celebrated together my dear friend, and of course bring your little spit fire with you...I imagine he would enjoy seeing some of our culture, no?" Prince Kiran once again cut off his wife.

"Very kind my prince...if that is all?" Leonor replied hedging his impatience to be excused.

"Yes, yes...you must want to get settled, very well, we will see you at eight tomorrow night" Prince Kiran agreed, waving a hand in dismissal.

Leonor turned to leave but had to grasp Harry's elbow to tow him with, as Harry was currently staring in horror at a sight just off the Princesses right.

The sight being a man of around 20, who was garbed only in loose fitting slacks and what looked like a dog collar. The man was currently on his knees seated next to a rather cruel looking immortal, who had his hand the chain attached to the collar. Harry gave a slightly strangled sound, before Leonor tugged more firmly on his arm.

Harry looked as if he was going to say something but stopped at the expression on Leonor's face. Leonor leaned down close to his ear as they made their way out of the room, "It does no good to stare Harry, there is nothing you can do for him"

Harry stared back at Leonor, the horror and anger clear in his bright green eyes, Leonor sighed before continuing in a quiet tone, "When I said there were those less patient then I, I was not lying my little prince. Most of us view mortals as another animal and treat them as such...well the lucky ones anyway. You will see a lot of things that you will not like here, Harry. I must ask you to refrain on starting something with their owners; it will not end well if you do."

Harry started to protest before Leonor interrupted him once again, "All I can do is promise not to treat you as such, but if I am going to afford such leniency...which many will not like, you must also try and not cause unrest while you are here. That means staying quiet, saving your energy from useless battles and spending it on learning, can you do that? Because if you cannot we should not have even bothered coming" Leonor stated.

Harry studied him silently before swallowing and nodding. He really couldn't afford to be sent home yet, he had to at least learn something that would help him defeat Voldmort.

He would stay silent...for now.


	8. Tricks and Training

**sorry about longer then usual wait between updates, I am now down to two fanfics in progress so hopefully it wont happen again. Thanks to all who are still reading this! let me know what you think!**

**Chap 7: Tricks of Training **

_Practice is the hardest part of learning, and training is the essence of transformation."  
― __Ann Voskamp__, __One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are_

Training had sounded like a good idea in abstract. Yes in abstract it was a solid well thought-out plan. Work hard, learn to fight, find a way to defeat Voldemort and maybe even survive. Too bad the reality was not quite so straight forward.

Harry had known this brilliant plan would include hard work and learning how to fight. Knowing this and experiencing it however were two different things entirely. Harry had always known that although he didn't actively work towards it, he was in decent physical shape. Running away from Dudley, endless chores and weeding, not to mention Quiditch training had ensured that. He had never really worried about it much; he had after all, many other things to preoccupy himself with. He was starting to very much regret that however.

Harry bit his lip to stop the grunt of pain that wanted to escape out as he felt his body hit the ground with a resounding thud. "Pathetic. Are you even trying?" Zyren asked his deep voice full of contempt, "Again."

Harry swallowed the sarcastic retort he wanted to say and wearily pushed his stiff, bruised body off of the ground. It had only been a day and a half and already he was not sure he was going to survive Leonor's attempts to 'help him.'

Immediately following the rather strained reunion with Leonor's brethren, the immortal had escorted Harry back to what Leonor had once called his home. The fact that it had been sitting empty for nearly a century had not seemed to worry the ancient immortal.

The colossal manor that turned out to be Leonor's home had of course not fallen into disrepair as Harry had feared. Leonor was the owner of more than a few Luputians after all. Luputians turned out to be a cousin of sorts to what wizards called house elves. Unlike their rather homely and pitiful cousins however, Luputian's were rather proud, lovely creatures, resembling rather large fairies…minus the wings. Leonor had informed him that these creatures would only bond with an immortal and their whole purpose in life was to serve and take care of said immortal. Unlike their wizarding counterparts however, they did not follow orders without question and could survive and prosper as long as they had first bonded with said immortal, even if the immortal chose not to live with the creatures nearby.

Leonor's troupe of Luputians had of course kept his all but abandoned manner in tip top shape while he was on his self imposed exile. Harry had noticed many empty spots when the staff had lined up to greet their returned immortal. Leonor had noticed his inquisitive looks and had quietly explained that he had once had almost double the number of Luputians as staff but many had been bound with his former wife and when she had died, they had blamed him and left. Harry could see the pain swimming in his mentor's eyes and wisely let the subject drop.

Leonor had seemed painfully uncomfortable within the manor's ornate walls and had allowed Harry mere minutes to see his new residence before ordering Harry to follow him back outside. The minute Harry arrived on the vast grounds Leonor had outlined his new 'training schedule. ' He had told Harry that they would start by first retraining his body and mind and then advance to working with his magic. Harry had wanted to protest, he for one was pretty sure that he would not be kickboxing with Voldemort on return, but he took one look at Leonor's expression and decided it might be a tad unwise to voice his opinion.

Leonor had handed him a schedule that consisted of waking up at 5:00am each morning to go for a run. Of course the schedule had failed to state that this run would consist of several rather hilly miles all done at a pace that his sadistic mentor chose. Following this heart stopping, sweat producing, vision blurring, FUN activity, Harry had been treated to a breakfast of steel cut oatmeal and nutrition fortified milk. Leonor had told him quite sternly 'that he was a growing teenage boy and needed to have a well balanced diet, not to mention he had to make up for all of the damage that his loving former family had supplied him with,' he did not seem overly amused by Harry's grumpily muttered 'yes, mum.'

After this fortifyingly bland breakfast, Harry had been put through 2 hours of calisthenics and exercises to help quicken his reflexes. Leonor had actually seemed grudgingly impressed by Harry's faster than normal reaction time. Of course he had been quick to show Harry just how slow his reflexes were when compared to an immortal's but he did admit for a mortal Harry was not bad. Harry had been more than a little relieved to find out that the remaining two hours before lunch would be occupied with academic studies.

He had snorted at this thought. He could just picture Hermione's look of pride when Harry admitted that he was actually looking forward to sitting and reading a book. Of course he was actually looking more forward to the sitting then the reading part, but small steps. It turned out that Leonor had arranged for Harry to have a tutor other then himself for this portion of his training, an elf by the name of Chavi.

Harry had felt his heart constrict rather painfully when he had first met Chavi. She reminded him of a female version of Sirius, not only in looks but in temperament. Her bouncy, childlike behavior was polar opposite of Leonor's serious, stoic personality but the ancient seemed rather fond of the happy little elf. It had taken only a short while to discover that this happy go lucky attitude did not in any way diminish her academic fervor. By the time lunch had rolled around Harry felt that his head would join his body in a premature death.

He could not fault the elf however, she seemed to not only be an enthusiastic teacher but far more competent in the art then many of his former professors (not mentioning any specific names of course…cough cough…Umbridge). After lunch Leonor had allowed Harry an hour break… well break in the loosest sense of the word. In reality it was an hour of being continuously flounced in chess by Leonor. When Harry had grumbled the pointlessness of the accursed game, one that he had never been overly skilled at, Leonor had been quick to admonish his sentiments and inform him that it would do him good to learn some strategy. They had ended up playing for shot glasses of blood, something Harry was sure Leonor had planned out knowing how pants he was at the stupid game.

Following this blood siphoning activity, Leonor had introduced him to his third instructor, one to serve in hand to hand combat and weapon training, a fire daemon named Zyren. If Chavi had been light spirited and optimistic, well Zyren was moody, sour and most decidedly pessimistic. The daemon was devastatingly handsome, the very definition of dark and dangerous he had the personality to match. Where Chavi had reminded Harry of Sirius with her laughter and banter, Zyren was much more reminiscent of Snape, with his glares and cutting words. Harry knew from the moment of meeting him, that nothing he would be able to do would meet the daemon's expectations.

Harry straightened his spine the best he could and warily moved opposite of his scowling instructor. They had been at this for the past hour. Harry facing Zyren, trying his best to dodge and dive out of the way of the daemon's attacks. So far he had failed spectacularly at it, only managing to get slammed into the ground over and over by the quick daemon. "No, you need to move your hips, not just your feet" Zyren snapped at him as Harry attempted to swerve and avoid the rock Zyren threw at him.

"I am" Harry ground out, tired and frustrated.

"You are doing no such thing! I have no idea what Leonor is thinking trying to train a scrawny, pathetic mortal like you. He might as well be training a flobberworm ballet" Zyren retorted dropping a sharp looking stone and springing forwards.

Still fuming over the daemon's words Harry was once again caught unaware and felt his shoulder meeting the hard ground underneath him. "Pay attention! You cannot be distracted by words when you are facing an enemy. I cannot cure you of being mortal, and I am most doubtful that I can cure you of your stupidity" Zyren stated.

Harry did not answer, trying to push himself up but failing, realizing a moment too late that the weight pressing him down was not just his weariness but Zyren's body. "Are you going to get off me?" Harry bit out, trying once again to rise up, only to feel his arms give out.

"That is entirely up to you, seems you cannot manage to dodge my attacks you may as well learn to at least free yourself once captured. If you can get off the ground we will end your lesson for the day. If not we will continue until you can" Zyren stated not moving off of Harry's prone figure but instead applying more pressure to his manacled wrists.

Harry glared furiously up at his captor, and frantically tried to think of a way to free himself from his restricted position. He hated being confined or unable to move, it reminded him too much of a horrific evening unable to move off of a headstone. Harry flailed and jerked his body with little success.

Every muscle was aching, and all he wanted to do was go inside take a long hot shower and sleep for the next century, but first he had to figure a way to get the arrogant asshole sitting on top of him to move.

"Is that the best you can do? I might as well kill you here and now, save everyone the effort…" Zyren whispered mockingly, his face inches from Harry's face.

Harry was not even sure what made him do it. Later he would mark it down to a mixture of rage, panic and desperation…he really wasn't willing to look into his motives deeper than that. One moment he was glaring hatefully up at his tormentor's snide face and cruel smirk, the next moment his lips were grinding forcefully against that smirk.

Harry felt, more then heard Zyren's startlement as the Daemon whole body stiffened and he arched back away from him. This movement gave Harry the moment he needed and he brought his knee up viciously connecting with the Daemon's inner thigh. The daemon reared further back and tumbled to the side moving enough off of Harry so that he could pull away and scramble up, quickly placing several feet distance between them.

"What the fuck was that?!" Zyren shouted his face lined with fury.

Harry took a deep breath and forced himself not to show his fear or uncertainty. In all truth he really was not entirely sure what that was or why he had done it. "You told me I had to free myself. You did not say how I had to do so" He stated calmly, his gaze not wavering from the squinted crimson orbs glaring at him.

Emotions flitted across the daemon's face; fury and embarrassment were just a few of them. Finally the daemon closed his eyes as if searching for patience and stated, "Lesson over, we will continue tomorrow, now get out of my sight."

Harry decided not to push his luck and made a quick retreat towards the manor.

So keen on escaping to the comforts of a warm, soothing shower was he, that he did not notice the daemon staring, face unreadable after him.


	9. Not Quite Strangers

**Thanks everyone! so glad to know that people are reading this! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review and let me know what you think!**

**Here is the next chapter so hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 8: Not quite strangers**

_ "__Reunion reveals friendship potential that haven't yet been emerged in the past."  
― __Toba Beta__, __My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut_

Harry's feelings of apprehension grew as following Leonor; they neared the elegant gold and silver doors ahead. Harry had retreated quickly after his 'training session' with Zyren, eager to put some space between him and the confusing daemon. Harry was starting to seriously regret his decision to accompany Leonor to this realm. Everything was the same yet so different from what he was used to.

He had thought that entering the wizarding world from the muggle one was overwhelming, however transferring from the wizarding world to the immortal realm was even more so…just in a different way. While many of the aesthetics of the place simply looked like a slightly more posh, version of what you would see in the mortal realms, the people and beings were eons apart.

Physically they did not differ much from their mortal counterparts (well apart from the fact that most were quite pleasing to look at) but their mannerisms and attitudes were so cold. Harry assumed that this coldness was the result of living lifetime after lifetime, watching the other realms changing, growing or falling, yet never changing yourself. It felt as if most of the immortals he had met had, a limited number of expressions and feelings that they could or more likely would express. It felt as if Harry was surrounded the most extreme versions of purebloods, where the masks were more important than anything that could lie beneath.

It was exhausting. Harry had always been an expressive person; he was horrible at manipulations and lies. He failed spectacularly at fake smiles and cutting barbs. In essence this place felt so very wrong to him; like the fire that defined his passion and soul were slowly being crystallized. Changing into a harder, colder, shinier stone. Harry knew he was over reacting, he really hadn't been here that long but at the same time he knew he was not wrong.

Standing under the hot, steady spray from the shower head, Harry briefly wondered if Leonor would actually take him back if he asked. In all honesty he was not sure. Part of him wanted to believe that Leonor would honor his word to Harry…yet another had to wonder if now that he had returned to his home and people, would the immortal be willing to turn his back on them again? He had quickly banished this line of thought. He did not want to be the person who would force someone to make a choice like that, plus what was really waiting for him back home?

More lies? More manipulations? Almost certain death? No…if forced to chose he would chose life over death….even if it meant changing and morphing into a harder, colder version of himself.

Leonor came to a halt in front of the doors and turned back to look at Harry. He grabbed hold of Harry's wrists to stop the dark haired teen from fiddling with his clothing. The clothes most immortals chose to wear were much more reminiscent of the mid 1700's-muggle styles then, the ridiculous wizarding robes that were favored in Britain currently.

Leonor thought he had chosen Harry's outfit well. While the boy was still painfully thin, his skin no longer had a waxy, near death appearance. He had fitted the teen in a dark green, almost black, frogged waist coat, parted to allow the fitted grey dress shirt and tight black pants underneath to show. He had made Harry attempt to control his wild raven locks with little success… all the attempts had really done was further agitate the stubborn cowlicks, so that they now fell wildly over his forehead and at random angles across the crown of his head. It did not really matter in the end; overall Harry made a striking figure, considering his smaller than normal stature.

"Please desist and TRY to behave" Leonor scolded, earning himself a petulant frown from the smaller man. He held in a chuckle, he really did find Harry's open emotions amusing. They waited in silence for another minute before a guard (Harry tried to recall if it was the same one that had announced their arrival before but had little success. He still thought that many of the immortals looked eerily similar in their perfection) gave Leonor a curt nod and motioned him to enter.

The next few steps were indeed rather similar to their attendance the day earlier; consisting of an official announcement (Harry had to bite his tongue over the fact that he was still referred to as Leonor's bonded, rather than by name. He knew that they knew his name and were just too superior to bring themselves to say it), and an oppressive silence, in which they approached the slightly elevated platform at the back- center of the room, where formal introductions and bows to their royal highnesses were given.

"Wonderful! I am so glad you came my dear brother" the Princess purred, stepping forward to offer her hand to Leonor.

Leonor return smile was a tad strained but he bowed and kissed the proffered hand, "No my highness, it is a honor to come" before turning slightly and offering a greeting and bow to Prince Kiran who at had also taken a step forward to greet his brother-in-law.

The prince's smile was much warmer and friendlier then that of his wife's and unlike her, his smile only grew when he spotted Harry standing slightly behind Leonor.

"Ah, my childe I am so very glad that Leonor has brought you along! I dare say he did a splendid job in choosing your attire….I am assuming he chose, yes?" the prince stated placing a hand on Harry's shoulders.

Harry was only too aware of the shocked and outraged gasps that sounded throughout the guests when the Prince touched him…somehow he did not think that they were outraged on his behalf. Harry could not help but like the prince, at the very least he was the most friendly of the immortals he had met (well excluding Chavi, but Harry failed to think of anyone who was as exuberant as the beautiful elf), so he did his best to show his respect and gratitude.

"Thank you, your highness. And Yes Leonor was rather insistent" Harry replied bowing his head slightly, similar to what he had witnessed Leonor do.

There was another round of shocked gasps, which Harry took to mean he had screwed some important social cue up. He refused to allow his discomfort to show outside of the faint blush, which given his coloring was inevitable. Prince Kiran chuckled, the sound deep and rich.

"You dare…" Princess Selene began in a glacial outraged tone, but before she could finish informing Harry of her ire, her husband cut her off.

"Now, Now my dear. He meant nothing by it. I find it refreshing to tell you the truth, it is good to be reminded of what we overlook…" the prince stated, waving an impatient hand at his wife before turning to face Leonor, "He is a delight my friend. I wish for him to sit with us tonight"

If Leonor was surprised by this request, which the majority of the immortals surrounding them seemed to be, he did not show it, "Of course my highness. I have not exactly gotten around to educating him on our traditions and customs as of yet…" he trailed off not looking overly concerned.

Harry felt his eyes tighten in irritation, of course Leonor had not deemed to let him know the protocol that was necessary not to offend every one of his kind. No, that would be too practical.

Harry took the next several minutes in which Leonor chatted amicably with the royal couple, to survey the room. It was not the same room that they had visited the day before; while still enormous, the colors and flooring made the room appear more intimate.

Currently near the front of the room (the side furthest away from the ornate doors) there was one incredibly long wooden table. Harry could not guess the type of wood, only that it was very polished and expensive looking. It actually reminded him of a much fancier version of the house table back at Hogwarts, but instead of the long wooden benches that existed at the school, there was what appeared to be hundreds of delicate gold backed chairs. Harry noted that there was a second much less elegant table located to the far left, half in the shadow of a marble stone over hang; it appeared to be placed to be as unobtrusive as possible.

In front of the tables was a vast marble covered space, which Harry took to be a dance floor, and where most of the immortals currently mixed and mingled. While Harry had never been one to notice fashion or adornments back home, he had to admit that the mix of the men's elegant waste coats and the floating jewel toned dresses that the women wore made a bewitching sight.

Harry's attention was drawn back to the imposing figures in front of him when he felt rather then saw Leonor start to move towards the center of the beautiful table. Harry hesitated unsure of himself, but Leonor placed a hand in the middle of his back and gently guided him forward.

He paused to allow the royal couple to walk ahead of him; once they were far enough ahead, Leonor took the time to bend slightly so that his mouth was close enough to whisper without being overheard.

"I do apologize; I sometimes forget you do not know certain things. It is rather fortunate that the Prince is so charmed by your ignorance…it is unheard of for a mortal to be seated at the table maggoriae" his soft voice brushed past Harry's ear.

Harry did not falter his step but Leonor's words suddenly gave him an indication to what the other table presence was for. He swallowed his disgust at the obvious segregation between immortal's and whom they deemed less worthy. 'Could no civilization get along? Was there some natural law that made different races or beings want to subjugate and disregard those they saw as weaker? His mind briefly recalled a muggle named Darwin, perhaps he had alluded to some such rule, Harry really could not recall.

Leonor pulled out a chair beside him for Harry to sit down in; it was two seats down and across from the prince and princess, before gracefully sitting in his own chair. Delicate gold rimmed plates and cutlery were placed in front of each guest, along with beautiful crystal goblets. Harry watched Leonor closely as he placed one long delicate finger on the rim of first his plate and then his glass, each were filled with food and wine respectively. The prince noticed Harry's attention and leaned over to whisper in a conspiratal tone, "Just touch both your plate and glass… that will determine what you desire and provide it" he beamed at Harry.

Harry got the feeling that the Prince was simply delighted to have someone new and different to focus his childlike enthusiasms on. He offered a soft thanks and did as instructed. True to the Prince's words a spicy lentil curry and rice appeared, along with a goblet of chilled water. Harry started slightly in surprise but quickly had to admit to himself that the magic in play did work properly. While Harry had always greatly appreciated Hogwart's cuisine (because let's face it any food is better than none at all) he found it to be a tad bland.

"Ah excellent choice, my young one….tell me have you ever been to that country they call India? Most divine curries you could imagine" The Prince stated his eyes getting a slightly far off, dreamy look. From the glare of not only the Princess but many of the immortal's surrounding, the fact that the Prince was making an effort to converse with the mere mortal was not a pleasing one.

Harry did not let it bother him; he was used to getting glared at after all. Plus he was rather tired of being treated as a second class citizen, he had experienced that way too much with the Dursleys. If the Prince was going to try and make conversation with him then he would be damned if he did him the disservice of not returning it.

Because he was focused on the Prince's remarks he completely missed the conversation taking place to his right, between the Princess and Leonor.

"Really brother, what were you thinking? He is completely uncouth and disrespectful. Not to mention ignorant….and you haven't even formally made the bond yet" Princess Selene hissed at her brother, her voice quiet, not carrying to their nearest neighbors.

"It is hardly his fault if I have not yet instructed or educated him in these things. You can place your ire with me, my dear sister. I do not understand the degree of your displeasure to him…unless it is the fact that my little one can distract your husband so thoroughly" Leonor stated back, a slightly taunting smile gracing his lips.

His sister may now be royalty, but she was still his little sister…something like that did not change just because of who you had married. His sister had always been a vain, self centered creature, marrying the royal prince had done little to change that fact.

"As for the reason I have not initiated the formal bond…I cannot. I will not do that to him my sister. Initially, I thought I might but I cannot see him in that fashion. I feel rather more paternal towards him" Leonor finished with a shrug and took a small sip of blood from his goblet.

"You cannot be serious!" his sister spat, disbelief warred with anger in her normally expressionless face, "you do not know what you are saying…brother. Surely you do not plan to…" she continued shaking her head in denial, when Leonor simply smiled back at her, "no, Leonor. No one has in the past two centuries. He cannot be worth that"

Leonor took his time to set his goblet down and take a bite of his glazed duck, knowing waiting before answering her would irritate. Only when he was sure she would snap (based on her steadily increasing frown) did he choose to reply. "I am not sure yet sister. I have made no definite plans….but it is a possibility. We have not known each other long, but I can only think that it will happen" he answered with another shrug before continuing, "now please can we discuss something else? This subject is getting rather tedious."

The princess glared at him with an expression that would have made most grown men faint, but Leonor simply smiled not in the least bit perturbed.

"Fine. Since you are currently so obsessed with the mortal realm perhaps you would be interested to know that one of our informers is back for a time. From what I understand he has spent quite some time in England" Princess Selene said primly, evidence of her continued irritation at him.

"England?" Leonor questioned his brow furrowing slightly. He turned to Harry and upon seeing that the prince was not engaging him in conversation at the moment, addressed his next question to the raven haired youth. "Harry, were you not from England?"

Harry jerked, startled from his focus on his dinner he turned a to look at Leonor his eyebrow raised in question before answering cautiously, "Yes…although most of my time was spent at Hogwarts which is located in Scotland."

The Princess looked curious despite herself at his answer, "Hogwarts? Is that not that silly wizarding school?"

Harry chose to ignore the condescending tone and remark, "Yes your highness, it is one of the better known magical schools in Europe."

"How quaint. I believe our informant was also at Hogwarts" She sneered, before lifting a finger to summon a heavily adorned girl to her side. Harry had to assume she was the help, though he was uncertain if she was mortal or immortal. The Princess whispered something in her ear and the girl gave a quick curtsey.

A moment later a formally dressed man approached and quickly bowed to the Princess, "My highness? You requested my presence?" the man drawled.

Harry felt as if his insides had frozen. He was all too familiar with that voice; it belonged to one of his most persistent tormentors.

"Ah yes…my dear brother has returned and has brought a….mortal" she allowed as much disdain as possible drip into the last word before continuing, "With him. His pet claims to have attended Hogwarts, perhaps you know him….Severus?" she asked impatiently, gesturing towards where Harry was seated.

Harry's whole posture tensed, his spine became ramrod straight as the threatening figure of his former potions professor turned to look at him.

If the shocked expression was telling, it had nothing on the pure disbelief present in his tone, "Potter!?"

Harry refused to flinch as those burning onyx eyes found his, "Er…hello Professor. Fancy seeing you here."

Harry noted the murderous expression on the potion masters face and thought morosely to himself, 'sometimes life really wasn't fair.'


	10. Conflict and Confrontations

**Greetings! Thanks everyone who reviewed. favorited etc...here is a slightly longer chapter. I hope you enjoy as always let me know what you thing!**

**Chapter 9: Conflict and Confrontations **

_"__Another mission, the powers have called me away  
Another time, to carry my colors again  
My motivation, an oath I've sworn to defend …  
And now my unfortunate friend, you will discover  
A war you're unable to win"-indestructible by the disturbed_

Of all the things that Severus Snape had been expecting for his first official event since his return, it had most definitely not been the face of his least favorite mortal….Harry James Potter. Ok, so possibly his fifth least favorite mortal, only losing out to Voldemort, Sirius Black, James Potter and Dumbledore.

No, in all honesty (something that he generally did his best to avoid) he truthfully had not been expecting this. Severus could feel himself losing control of his normally unflappable, blank countenance, as those damning green eyes stared back defiantly, filled with challenge.

How in Tetanus's beard was the boy here of all places? This was Severus's sanctuary from the accursed mortal realm. That, and the fact that he was fairly certain that the boy was supposed to be safely tucked away in the loving arms of his disgustingly muggle relatives. Somehow, the fact that the boy had once again disregarded all rules (which were in place for his own blasted good) and managed to find himself in the middle of trouble again, did not surprise him.

Still trying to process this shock Severus momentarily forgot the company that they were in, "What the hell are you doing here Potter? Were the instructions you received too simple for your tiny, idiotic brain to comprehend? Or do you simply enjoy placing yourself above all others and disregarding their sacrifices on a lark?" Severus spat at the admittedly elegant looking teen in front of him.

He barely heard the delighted cackle of the Princess and the gleeful murmur of "Oh, absolutely delicious….such fun," he was so caught up in his anger.

Once again the insolent child went out of his way to vex him and did not rise to the bait, Severus noticed however the angered flex of his jaw and whitely clenched fists in his lap. Severus had always enjoyed pushing the child's buttons, he was so like his idiotic father…and like his father he had played a key role in getting dear Lily killed.

"What? No comment for once? Have you stooped so low you cannot even manage words now? I am curious of your plans… Are you running away, abandoning your so called friends? I somehow thought for all your faults, you would not be a cowardly liar….then again we all know that there are many of those in the Great house of Gryffindor" Severus continued finding a small amount of satisfaction at the hate present from his last comment. He was of course commenting on Peter, a most obvious sore spot for the youth.

"But Professor, would that not be the pot calling the kettle black? I believe as a half blooded _wizard_ you would be familiar with that muggle saying….oh wait apparently _Professor, _you aren't really a wizard at all…" Harry replied his voice barely above a whisper, but given his company it was easily heard. Severus sneered and was about to reply before Harry continued, " and speaking of cowards…surely someone as apparently powerful as you would be able to rise above such things as petty school boy rivalries" his voice shaking with barely contained rage.

Severus could guess what he was alluding to of course. Of course the spoiled brat blamed him for the death of his disgusting godfather; it was just like the little twerp to deny responsibility for his own failures. He was about to make comment to this when he was once again interrupted, this time it was by one of his least favorite immortals….Leonor.

"I think that is enough….both of you" Leonor stated his voice hard and firm as both of the men opened their mouths to protest.

Severus recognizing his rank grudgingly closed his mouth and swallowed the insult fighting to get out; the dark haired teen however was not so wise.

"But Leonor…" Harry protested quietly looking for all things his young age.

"Harry, I said enough" Leonor replied firmly staring forcefully at the teen. Severus fully expected the annoying child to let his quick fire temper goad him into ignoring the command. He prepared himself for a major headache, as much as he hated the child he had made a promise….one he would keep even if it forced him to fight with his own.

Surprisingly the dark haired teen closed his mouth and stared down at his lap in obedience. While this saved Severus from his initial fear, it brought another one to the surface. Just what was Potter doing here?

He had promised himself long ago he would protect the blasted child, not out of concern for the boy but as repentance for _her_. He felt a silent dread fill his stomach as he studied Leonor's possessive hand on the frail shoulder….his mind wanted to deny the possibility. Unfortunately, he had been an immortal far too long to not do so.

There were only two ways for a mortal to enter the immortal realm, and only one was regularly practiced…which would mean that Lily's child was now the concubine of an immortal. Not only an immortal, but it would appear one of the most powerful ones. Severus closed his eyes in revulsion; it was one of the practices of immortals that he absolutely detested.

And now he had somehow failed in the last promise he had made his best friend….he had failed to protect her son. He fought back the bile and managed to wrestle his expression back to one of cold indifference. He may be an immortal but he was a relatively young one, that and he really had very little standing in the face of the court.

Severus had been an immortal for the past two centuries. His human life had been far from idle and if Aah had not decided to remove him from his loving father's care, he likely would not have survived even ten years. It was both luck and a curse that Aah had seen him as a son and had used one of his two _natuurlijks _(gifts) to change him.

It had not been an easy or smooth transition for him… he had never known love or kindness, he did not understand magic and therefore the very basis of immortal society had not made sense to him. After more than a century and a half of struggling in this realm (in reality only 3 years in the mortal realm) his sire had decided that Severus needed to truly experience childhood if he hoped to adjust.

It was this insane thought that had resulted in his sire using a most painful blood magic to de-age him to eleven (the age that most muggle raised children, which he was essentially since his mother had died at childbirth and his abusive father was very much a muggle, learn of magic) and send him to Hogwarts. The magic used would allow him to naturally age to the approximate physical age of 25 before ceasing.

It was at Hogwarts, that he met and befriended his first true friend, Lily Evans. Severus would admit that he did indeed love that fiery, redheaded mortal, he thought of her as the sister he never had. And that ignorant, cruel idiot, James Potter all but led her to her death. Yes, deep down he knew that this in-proportional hatred was really just disguised guilt but he did not care.

It was better than letting the guilt tear him apart for eternity…it was much easier to hate another then oneself after all. Yet, the guilt was there. It was he after all who had told that vile creature Voldemort about the prophecy…or half prophecy.

At the time he had done it in order to gain insight into the darker aspects of the mortal realm, he had plenty of chances to understand the light. He was a student under Headmaster Dumbledore after all. But if he was going to please not only his sire, but his prince he wanted to have a comprehensive view of both sides to report. So, he had needed an in with the dark lord.

At the time he had not realized that the prophecy referred to his friend's child. If he had, he would never have opened his mouth. But it was too late to change the past…not even immortal's could do that. So he had vowed to protect the last reminder of her…her son. This did not stop him from blaming her son for her death however…for if it had not been for Harry, Voldemort would have had no reason to go after Lily.

So, yes his feelings towards Harry James Potter were rather complicated to say the least. And now to complicate things further it would appear that his most hated immortal had laid claim to the child.

Okay, hate was perhaps a little strong to describe how he felt about the damn ancient. Severus's own sire, Aah was the brother of Leonor's deceased wife. The whole situation with her murder had caused no small amount of bad blood (no pun intended) between the two of them, and his sire's hatred for Leonor had transferred (albeit to a lesser degree) to Severus. Ironically, it was rather fitting that these two were now connected.

Severus was pulled from his musings by the sinister chuckle of the Princess, he smothered the desire to shudder. He had never been a fan of the slightly sadistic Princess.

"Oh _dear_ brother, it would appear your little mortal may be worth keeping after all…such excitement he has brought us" Princess Selene purred, her lips in a twisted mimicry of a smile.

A quiet muttered, "I live to please" came from the boy in question.

The princess's face twisted into one of pure hatred and rage but went no further as her husband let out a truly delighted laugh, "Oh Leonor he really is a treat."

Severus decided, as he silently sat down in the offered empty chair across from the teen, that the Prince and he had decidedly different definitions of the word treat.

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Harry found himself grinding his teeth and digging his nails painfully into his palms to stop himself from responding to Snape's cruel jibes. It would be a lie to say that he had expected his former professor to show up here of all places, but his shock was quickly being replaced by a burning anger and betrayal.

Was there no one in his former life that had not lied or deceived him? He had come to terms with the fact that Severus and Sirius hated each other, and nothing and no one would have ever changed that. He had even forgiven the sneering man for his indifference and dismissal of the possibility of Sirius being in danger that fateful day last year.

But he had to admit, to himself at the very least, that the fact that Severus had outright deceived him…well, hurt. Where Harry had accepted the fact that Dumbledore often lied and skipped important facts, he had thought that the dour potion master did not. No, he was not a fool, he knew that the man had his secrets but he generally believed that they were none of his business as they did not things that effect him.

He knew the man hated him, and while he did not understand this hatred exactly, after first year it was not one sided. So while he knew that Snape hated him, he had always thought the man had some regard for his safety or at least his life. Now though…he was not so sure.

The remainder of the rather opulent meal (most of which harry pushed around his plate, he really was not used to rich food…especially this MUCH rich food, then to add the company of a snippy rude dungeon bat to the mix…safe to say he did not have much appetite) passed with cutting remarks and barbed comments.

Finally, the other's seemed to have finished and Harry could not take it any longer…he wanted, No…he needed to get some space at least for a few moments. He could take Severus ragging on him but the man had started to make degrading comments about Sirius, and Harry knew if he did not get some air he would do something he would later regret.

"Your highnesses, thank you for the delicious meal and…um lovely company, if you would excuse me for a moment?" Harry asked trying his best to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

He apparently was somewhat successful because Prince Kiran shot a ear splitting smile his way (honestly what was up with this man? No one could be THAT happy, especially married to the Princesses of misery), and answered "Of course my young one. It will take a few moments to move everyone to the dance floor anyway"

Harry ignored Leonor's frown and gave a quick nod before moving as quickly as he could (which for a mortal was rather speedy) towards the now open patio doors before Leonor could order him to stay.

He took a deep breath as the cool night air hit his lungs and unconsciously relaxed his hunched shoulders, while wandering distractedly further into the twisted garden. He let his eyes gaze at the almost violently colored sky. That was one major difference in this realm, the night sky was neither black nor did it contain stars…instead it was a volatile mix of clashing colors and shapes, depending on the happenings inside the realm and the realms that surrounded it.

At the moment it was a blood red with dancing flames of yellow, white and dark blue. Harry did not know what this meant in regards to happenings, but he thought the dancing flames looked rather like the northern lights of the muggle world….if not a tad more showy.

His silent contemplations were interrupted by the not so welcome arrival of another. Harry dragged his eyes from sky to look at the man in front of him. As he took in the medium build and cruel blue eyes he unconsciously took a step backwards. He recognized this man….he had seen him before.

Harry desperately cast back in his mind trying to find the memory that would tell him where he recognized the man from. When he did he felt no comfort at the knowledge. This was the immortal that he had seen holding the hopeless looking boy's leash yesterday.

Harry however did not need this knowledge to recognize the cruelty in those blue eyes.

"Well…well what do we have here? Where is your owner pretty? If I were him I would know better than to let my property going wandering off all alone" the man sneered, his lips curling to reveal sharp, elongated canines.

Harry cast a desperate glance around him and realized with despair that the man was right about one thing…he was very much alone at the moment. He steeled his nerves and answered in an only slightly wavering voice, "I really do not see how that is any of your business." At the same time the words left his mouth, Harry cursed his damn impulsive words.

The man took another step forward effectively pinning Harry between him and the twisted tree behind the teen. "You should learn to show more respect to your betters whore, if your owner refuses to teach you then I am more than happy to oblige" he spat grabbing Harry's hanging hair roughly and yanking so that the teen was forced to look up at him.

Harry struggled against the grip on his hair and the confines of the man's body futilely, "Let. ME. Go." He growled, "Leonor will not let you get away with this!"

The man leaned forward so that his face was inches from that of the struggling boy "No? I am not sure of that….if you were as precious as you seem to believe you are he would have actually laid claim to you. But from the smell of you he has not done so….why is that I wonder? Perhaps he has changed his mind? In that case I am doing him a favor in claiming you instead….after all what is the plebian phrase you insects use? Ahh yes…finders keepers" he sneered and shifted his hips so that Harry could feel the immortal's arousal.

'Fuck' Harry thought desperately, his mind frantically grasping for a way to get himself out of a situation he most definitely did not want to be in, "Let me go!" he yelled at the immortal hoping that the noise might attract others.

When the man simply smirked and shifted his hand lower, Harry's mind started to short circuit with panic. He struggled wildly against the immortal to no avail. Suddenly a third voice interrupted the confrontation.

"I believe Edwand, he told you to release him" a dark sinister voice snarled.

Harry could not help the relief he felt flooding him as he looked up to see the voice of his savior. Green eyes locked with furious crimson eyes.

'Fuck' He thought to himself


	11. Unwanted Advances

**Here is the latest installment. Thanks to all who are still reading. As always read and REview!**

**Chapter 10: Unwanted advances**

_I don't want anyone to look to me, not for protection, not for happiness, not for love, not for anything."  
― __P.D. James__, __The Children of Men_

"This is no business of yours, daemon… you would be well advised to continue on your way" the man, Edwand apparently snarled at Zyren.

"Is that so?" the red eyed demon asked his voice deceptively calm, staring at the immortal in front of him, as if reading the secrets of his soul.

Harry suppressed a shudder at those infernal eyes….'Wait did immortal's have souls?' Harry mind latched onto a rather benign and unrelated thought, in the attempt to protect itself from short circuiting in panic over his current circumstances. He was not sure what to make of the daemon, he was pretty sure Zyren hated him….would he really help him or was he simply taunting?

Either way, Harry thought that he should probably at least use this situation to gain whatever advantage he could, in case the daemon changed his mind and really did walk away. Using fact that Edwand was distracted, Harry gathered all of his (admittedly) feeble strength and ripped his wrists from the immortal's steel grip while simultaneously bringing up his knee to connect with Edwand's….most sensitive area.

Harry noted that he was at least successful in causing the immortal some pain as Edwand let out a harsh hiss and momentarily took a step back. Not wanting to waste this brief window of opportunity Harry ducked under the immortal's arm and bolted to behind Zyren. He was forced to trust the daemon as he did not think there was much chance of him making it back inside before Edwand recovered. Zyren did not even raise his eyebrow at Harry's maneuver.

"You little bastard" Edwand hissed, rage contorting his normally attractive features into a grotesque mask of hate. He made to move toward where Harry was standing….okay, cowering behind Zyren.

"I really don't think you should do that" Zyren stated his tone flat, his posture at ease.

"You would make an enemy of me daemon for….for that?" Edwand asked in disbelief, directing a disgusted look in Harry's direction, "it is pretty, but there are lots of pretty things."

"Yes" Zyren stated to the question, not elaborating. Harry's eyebrows rose in surprise, the daemon's answer both surprising and confusing him. What the hell did he mean? Did he not hate him? He could feel a headache approaching and once again wished for the relative simplicity of the home.

The tense confrontation while quiet in noise was reeking in warning magic, the tense tendrils swirling and testing, looking for a weakness in either of the magical goliaths' shields. The magic apparently did not limit itself to the immediate area and it had made those inside aware of the conflict taking place in the garden, outside. Several of the immortal's made their way out to see what was causing such an influx of hostile magics. Included in these were Leonor, Prince Kiran, Severus and Princess Selene.

"What exactly is taking place here?" Leonor asked his voice quiet but the anger beneath it was apparent to all present.

"My lord…I came upon this miscreant in the process of forcing a claim on your chosen bonded" Zyren answered keeping his eyes lowered in deference to the Ancient in front of him.

There was a sharp intake of breathe from the surrounding crowd. It was not a small offense to attempt to take a possession that was already spoken for.

"Is that true?" Leonor questioned, but instead of directing the question at Edwand who was staring defiantly in the face of Zyren's accusation, he aimed it at Harry.

Not trusting his voice Harry nodded his agreement. "Speak up child" Prince Kiran ordered all the joviality from earlier now absent.

Harry swallowed his throat dry under the many intense stares aimed at him, many filled with suspicion or accusation. "Yes, your majesty that is the truth" he answered his voice coming out strong despite his uneasiness.

The anger that Leonor had been keeping under wraps until this point snapped forward as the immortal lunged forward grabbing the offender by the collar, "How dare you? You dare to lay claim to one of mine?" he hissed his deadly tone making Edwand flinch.

The other immortal did not back down however, "What right do you have to him? As far as I am aware he has not been officially claimed. By law he is free game" Edwand answered in a taunting voice, his expression smug.

Leonor snarled at him but his response was interrupted by the Princess. "What he speaks is true brother. He is within his right to try and stake a claim….as you well know. He may not have gone about this in the correct manner but he is correct none the less" Princess Selene stated a gleeful smile on her face.

Harry felt his heart clenching. What?! What the hell? That sadistic bastard could claim him? Oh no. No fucking way was he about to become that devils play thing. He opened his mouth to protest but was prevented when he felt a strong hand over his mouth silencing him. He began to squirm in an attempt to get free when the familiar cold voice of Zyren whispered in his ear, "Shut up. You will only make matters worse. Wait to see how things will play out first, and then devise a plan of attack."

Harry bit down the reflex to shiver at the smooth, seductive tone of the daemon's voice and stopped struggling. The daemon was right, at the moment nothing was decided, and realistically he had very little chance of winning any sort of fight against anyone in the vicinity.

"What are you proposing" Prince Kiran asked mildly.

"Why tradition of course darling….a fight for rights" Princess Selene answered in a sickly sweet tone.

Silence rang out after this proclamation, "But…but your excellence there has not been such a fight in centuries…." A gorgeously clad woman to the right of Harry exclaimed.

The Princess sent the woman such a deadly glare that she shrunk back, flushing in embarrassment at her brashness. "I am well of aware of that. It is however the proper way of settling disputes such as this" she turned her gaze from the shamed woman to look at her brother, "What say you, brother?" she asked Leonor.

Leonor nodded his head sharply before turning to face Edwand, "I challenge you Edwand of siphern to battle to the death, for the ownership and rights to one mortal, Harry James Potter. Do you accept?"

Edwand who had been suspiciously silent up until now, sneered and nodded "I accept your challenge, Marquees Leonor Diaz, marquee of the shadow realm."

The Princess clapped her hands together in pleasure, "Excellent, the fight will take place at noon tomorrow, in front of the court."

When both opponents nodded their heads the group began to dissipate, some heading back into the grand hall, others wandering further into the lush garden.

"Come Harry" Leonor demanded his voice leaving little room for argument. For once Harry did not see a benefit in defying the immortal and hurried towards him.

Leonor's cold hand closed roughly around his shoulder when he was within reaching distance and pulled him jerkily forwards. Harry let out a cry of surprise as he barely stopped himself from falling into the immortal. The immortal ignored his ire , leaning down, his hands speedily patting down Harry's body, the hand gripping his shoulder moved to his chin and the immortal turned his head side from side scanning him.

"Are you injured, did he hurt you?" he asked sharply.

Harry distracted by the probing and poking taking place managed to shake his head and choke out a "no."

He swore the immortal let out a sigh of relief before releasing him and taking a step back, "You idiot! How could you be so stupid to pull something like this? Did I not warn you of the dangers here? Did I not warn you against wandering off?" he berated.

Harry flushed with embarrassment and shame. It was rather stupid to wander off, especially in a place he had little familiarity with and knew there to be danger everywhere. But he felt like he was suffocating in this place, the newness and change building to the point where he felt as if he would collapse under the pressure of it all. At least with Voldemort he had known what to expect. Better the enemy you know and all that jazz….

"I'm sorry" he whispered, fighting the wetness that was traitorously threatening to come forth now that he wasn't being directly attacked. "I-I just needed air….it, it was getting to be too much" he finished quietly staring at the ground too embarrassed to meet the ancient's eyes.

Leonor sighed, "You ridiculous child, come here" he ordered before pulling Harry towards him once again and to the boy's shock, he was pulled into a hard hug. "Next time listen to me when I warn you about something. Believe it or not I do not do so for my own pleasure"

"I think it's time we go home, no?" Leonor asked once again taking a step back. Harry nodded, once again feeling a swell of unknown emotion. He could not recall the last hug he had received. Well not real hug anyway, sure Hermione hugged him but they were few and far between, and the few times he had seen Mrs. Weasley she had hugged him but somehow they had just made him uncomfortable. As if it was more out of obligation then desire to comfort.

Just as they turned to leave they were once again stopped. Harry flushed again to realize that they their exchange had been witnessed by two others.

"My lord, may I speak to you….in private?" Severus asked sneering in Harry's direction. Harry glared right back at him.

"Can it not wait? Harry has had a long day, I need to get him home" Leonor retorted sounding annoyed.

Harry held his breath, he did not think he could remember a person speaking in such a tone to the dour man and not ending up as potion ingredients. Severus lowered his head in deference but stated, "Please my lord this is important I will be brief"

Leonor sighed, "Very well….Zyren take Harry back to the manor, remain until I have returned…I wish to speak to you"

The sullen daemon stepped forward, "of course my lord" before grabbing Harry roughly by his upper arm and all but dragging him after him. Harry spluttered at his man-handling.

Honestly these immortals were infuriating, he was NOT a object to be pushed and pulled where ever they so desired. The daemon maintained a solid grip on the teen and faded (apparently the daemon form of apparition), letting go when they arrived in front of Leonor's manor.

Harry paused before entering, shifting awkwardly, "er…so thanks….for-for your help back there" he stated nervously, chancing a glance up at the intimidating daemon.

Zyren glared back at him, "If you were not so weak, I would not have had to 'help' you he sneered, "…and Leonor would not be fighting to possible death tomorrow"

With that he spun and marched past Harry into the manor. Harry stared after him indignation rising. Where all immortal's intrinsically arrogant and rude? How was it fair to blame him, a mere mortal, who did not have the benefit for superhuman strength or speed, or the advantage of centuries of knowledge for being unable to stop a sadistic bastard.

He growled under his breath before marching angrily after the retreating daemon into the house. Just wait. He would not let them break him. No, he would wait and learn. He would grow stronger.

He would show them. He was not weak.


	12. Paternal Protection

**Sorry for the delay in this update...time got away from me. First thanks for all the reviews etc. to answer a question, yes so far this story has been in the shadow realm I do plan on Harry leaving eventually (it is a drarry fic afterall) but wanted to establish this realm and understanding of it's inhabitants. Not including this chapter there are two more before I will be sending our little harry back to the wizards...so bare with me ;) **

**This chapter is the fight, although the actual fight is rather anti-climatic, sorry I am terrbile at writing action scenes. Hopefully it is passible! As always read, review etc! I faithfully await your opitions!**

**Chapter 11: Paternal Protection **

_"__A word in the ear from father to son, _

_Funny you don't hear a single word I say, _

_But my letter to you will stay by your side"-From Father to son; Queen_

Leonor allowed himself a small sigh of irritation as he led Severus to one of the many private rooms just off the main room, that were there just for this purpose. A private place to have a possibly volatile discussion that is.

He waited just long enough for the other immortal to enter before waving his hand effectively shutting and locking the door, privacy wards springing into place. He took his time turning back to the other man, knowing very well he was the one with the power in this situation.

"Well Severus? You state that you had something of import to discuss? This is your chance to do so" he stated his tone bored, appraising the man in front of him with a lazy eye. It was true he really did not know this immortal all that well, but from what he had gleaned over the years, was that the immortal stubbornly clung to his mortal emotions and motivations.

He knew that there was some unfinished business for Severus Snape in the mortal realm; he also knew that it was not of the good variety. He was equally aware that the immortal held no good will towards his own self, blaming him, like many others did, for the death of his beloved. Not that he necessarily disagreed with this assessment, in his opinion it was likely that he had played at least a peripheral part in his wife and unborn child's death.

He hastily pushed those morbid thoughts away. These thoughts had once been his whole existence however this was not true recently, well really not since he stumbled across the half starved, beaten child. He had to admit he had not had a real plan or idea on what he had wanted from the child. What he wanted was, however becoming more and more clear.

Severus cleared his throat in a rare show of nerves but steeled his stance and held Leonor's gaze, "I wish to discuss the boy."

Leonor cocked one of his eyebrows in question, not really sure where Severus was going with this, "Oh?"

"Y-yes my lord….I must ask…what is it you plan for the child?" the onyx eyed immortal pushed forward despite the lack of reaction from his counterpart.

"And why would this be of any concern of yours? You are forgetting your place Severus" Leonor replied his answer a sharp rebuke.

Severus visibly swallowed but did not look away, "I realize that my Lord, forgive me….he…he is the child of someone who was very important to me. I swore to her that I would look out for him"

Leonor did not answer, allowing the silence to drag on, counting on it to break the other man into speaking first. This information was interesting…. Who was it that Severus spoke of? It had to be someone who was no longer living… from what he had learned from Harry, there was no one, at least not to the child's knowledge, that was looking out for him now.

"Please, my lord. I realize I have no right and there is no way that I could fight whatever your decision is, but I-I can't stand by and see the child used like some disposable…pet" Severus spat the last word like it was something that had gone bad.

Leonor was quick to mask his surprise. He had never seen Severus so close to pleading for anything or anyone. He had thought it an impossibility of the proud man. This was good; the young immortal had always been too arrogant to ask for anything, it would do him good to finally do so. It was a good thing that in this case their ultimate goals were aligned.

"Relax Severus, I have no wish to abuse Harry's trust or his body" Leonor finally answered the anxious man in front of him.

Severus shot him a look of disbelief, "You don't?" his face full of surprise.

"No, I don't. I will admit I was not entirely decided on the matter until our arrival here, but no I do not wish that. It would break him; I do not want him broken. He is much to wild and entertaining for that…I would even say that I feel….." Leonor explained, pausing to organize what he wanted to say, "… surprisingly I feel rather protective over the little mortal, almost…well almost as I would my own child" he admitted, surprising even himself as he voiced the words.

It was true though, he realized. He was starting to view Harry as his child, perhaps a deviant and misbehaving child, but his none the less. Odd. This really hadn't been what he was expecting when he took the boy. Shrugging it off as irrelevant, he turned his attentions back to Severus once more.

The normally blank faced immortal was looking at him with a stunned expression; he was muttering something about Potter having Felix Felicis running through his veins, whatever the hell that meant.

Leonor glanced down at his pocket watch eager to go home, it had been a long trying day and although he was more than certain that he would be the champion of the match tomorrow there was no point on fighting while completely exhausted.

"Is that all you wished to speak of?" Leonor asked, the impatience he was feeling once again leaking into his tone and posture.

"Yes, my lord…just one more question….is Potter staying here, indefinitely?" Severus asked, looking just as eager for this conversation to be over with.

"I am unsure. For now I agreed to give him training… we will see. He will be here for awhile at the very least" Leonor replied with a shrug, his ambivalence to the question obvious.

"Of course my Lord….thank you for your time…." Severus stated bowing as was protocol, as Leonor turned towards the door to leave, Severus asked hesitantly, "tomorrow my lord?….."

Leonor paused and turned back towards him a smirk in place, "Yes, Severus I will win tomorrow, have no doubt in that. When I am done, Edwand and all others will think twice about challenging me….you would be wise to remember that."

With that voiced, he quickly spun and exited the room, his parting warning ringing through the air.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The tense, quiet atmosphere was not what Harry had expected when he pictured the setting for the challenge fight. He really should not have been that surprised, it summed up everything that he knew about immortals thus far. Somehow, however he had pictured something closer to the WWF fights that his uncle liked to watch on telly.

Well, okay so maybe not the huge, muscled men who looked like they had been popping pills for WAY to long and the scary bikini clad women, who looked as if they might have been subscribing to the same pill regime. But he had expected something a little more….well a little more rambunctious.

The fight was taking place outside surprisingly enough. The area that they were standing in resembled a cricket field, or at least that is what Harry pictured when he first saw the large, well tended area, surrounded by a wide circle of chairs. Pair this with the numerous Victorian clad immortals and there you have it….tea and fighting.

Zyren had accompanied Leonor and Harry, as well as to Harry's shock and consternation, Severus. Harry decided he would not even try to wrap his mind around that one, plus he was still a little pissed off with his former professor so decided that it would be best just to pretend he wasn't there. Snape seemed to be in agreement with him on this and they skillfully avoided both contact and conversation.

Not that he wasn't also avoiding Zyren, as he did not know what was left to be said to the arrogant and cold daemon…because of this he did his best to stick by Leonor. This succeeded up until their arrival, when one of the guards led Leonor off to the fighter's area. The same guard also grabbed Harry roughly by the arm and when Harry went to protest, he was told that as the prize he would be sitting separately.

Much to his relief, Zyren had stepped in and stated that he would accompany Harry to keep an eye on him and make sure that both sides of the fight did not try to pull anything. Harry might have resented the fact that he apparently needed a watcher but could not help but feel slightly better with a familiar, if not friendly face near him.

They were led to a slightly separated grouping of chairs that had a silvery looking rope fence around it and two very serious looking guards. The guards much to Harry's surprise did not appear to be immortals; rather they resembled what the wizards called Gorgons. The only difference was that instead of being female they were male, and instead of just snake heads as hair they also appeared to have long silvery look strands that flickered and shimmied with a life of their own.

Zyren noticed Harry's curious stare and supplied, "They are Hzxys…a mix between what your people call Gorgon's and Dementors. Their snake part can turn you into stone but only if they wish, while the silver strands make their intended prey freeze with fear so that the prey has no chance of getting away even if their eyes are shielded. Nasty tempers, but very obedient and dutiful to those they deem their rightful superiors. Prince Kiran has more than half their species' loyalties"

Harry gaped at him in horror; really anything that had the same abilities as dementors, was more than enough to bring him that feeling of fear. If there was one creature in the wizarding world he truly despised it was those rotting, soul suckers.

Choosing not to wait for Harry to regain his wits, Zyren pushed him (gently for the daemon) into the enclosed area before sitting down beside him. Harry shook his head, to get rid of his fear clouded thoughts, he would not think about their guards at the moment. He had much more important matters to concern himself with.

Harry scanned the empty field nervously, picking at a hangnail to distract himself. Zyren's warmer than normal hands clamped down on his (he had found that the Daemon was always running slightly on the warmer side, he figured it was part of the whole fire deal), "Desist mutilating yourself" the daemon hissed at him, tightening his grip as Harry tried to pull away.

Harry gave an irritated sigh but stopped squirming, "sorry….I-I'm just a little nervous…you know not really a big fan of possibly being 'owned' by a sadistic bastard and all" he muttered, spatting the word 'owned' out.

He couldn't quite decipher the look that the daemon gave him, but it almost looked sympathetic. At this thought he decided that he was truly insane, there was no way that the daemon would ever be sympathetic.

"Calm yourself from such idiotic notions, you silly child. There is no way that Leonor will lose this match. He is much older and much stronger then Edwand"

"Then why in world are they even having this match if it is a foregone conclusion?" Harry asked confused. Really these immortals were beyond comprehension, they went from cold and indifferent, to over emotional and hot-headed in a blink of an eye. He could not even begin to understand them.

"Edwand is arrogant… he is old and powerful but it has been too long since he has lost to anyone and has become over confidant in his superiority. The royal's have been thinking of reigning him in for awhile now, you simply provided an appropriate venue to do so, without causing an outcry" Zyren explained in a bored tone, staring out into the field rather than at Harry.

"Out cry? Why would there be such? Isn't it their right to punish their subjects and all?" Harry asked curiously. From what he had understood from Leonor, the prince and princess had supreme rights to do as they pleased.

"Yes and no. They can punish as they see fit, however most of Edwand's behavior has not been directed at his own kind rather it has been at mortals. There are many in this realm that consider the ill treatment or killing of their bonded to be a right, not crime. If the royal couple had punished him because of these actions, it might have brought him more sympathy from others who think as he does. By having him fight Leonor over you, he will likely lose and meet his death but because it was over an implied insult to Leonor not you, then it will be seen as acceptable to all" Zyren continued.

Harry let out a snort of indignation, "self centered pricks, the lot" he muttered under his breath. Caught up in his own irritation, he missed the slight twitch of Zyren's lips at his comment.

Harry let out a huff of annoyance before straightening and returning to his initial concerns, "So Leonor will for sure win? You're certain?" he asked worriedly.

"Yes, now please shut up. The match is about to start" Zyren stated.

Harry focused back on the field and saw that Zyren was correct, where there had been an empty field of grass there was now a large area surrounded by silvery ropes, similar to the ones around him and Zyren. Leonor and Edwand stood on opposite ends facing each other, both wearing fitted leather pants and loose untucked shirts. Neither held a weapon as far as Harry could tell.

The princess stood up and said a few words in a language that Harry could not understand, when he looked at Zyren in question, the daemon told him she was reminding them of the rules and the stakes. When she finished both gave a curt nod of their heads and a sharp bow to both the Princess and the Prince.

One moment they were standing facing each other, the next there was a blur of movement and they were viciously attacking each other. Harry had not even heard the starting signal and could barely follow the fight, the competitors' movements much too quick for his mortal vision.

The furious snarling and screams coming from the ring was amplified by the absolute silence of the audience. Before Harry could understand what was happening or who was winning, the fight was over.

The audience erupted in applause as Leonor stood straight, his face emotionless with a mangled corpse of his challenger at his feet. Harry let out a breath of relief before his fore head wrinkled in confusion.

"Wait….I thought you guys could not be killed? I thought that Leonor's family was the only immortal's that had ever passed on? So how could they fight to the death?" he asked.

Zyren sent him an evil smirk, "oh Edwand is not dead….well not at least in your sense of the word" He stated, obviously taking great pleasure in the teen's confused expression.

"?" Harry shot him a pleading look.

The daemon sighed but relented, "There are many ways that you can be dead Pettit combatant. Edwand is simply injured severely enough that it will take him many months to heal. Once he has healed physically without the additional aid of blood, he will be exiled to the _Sec realm_…it is most uncomfortable for someone like him. It is up to Leonor to decide when he has served long enough to be allowed back"

Harry had taken only a small amount of French but understood enough to scowl at the name Zyren had endowed him with, although he suppose little fighter was better than child, or little one, "Sec realm?" he asked curiously.

"It translates to Dry realm….it is basically a desert with constant sun and few inhabitants….There is only enough animals there to allow those banished to not desecrate….barely" Zyren continued giving a small shudder, "It appears differently for each prisoner… changes into an environment least suited for their comforts"

Harry held back his own shudder; he could only imagine what the realm would create for him. He almost felt sympathy for the psychotic immortal….okay so he didn't but still….

His attention was once again pulled back to the present as he felt Zyren tug him up from his seated position. He stood obediently more because he was not sure what was happening then out of any will to listen to the grumpy daemon. "Follow me into the center, Leonor must make official statement" Zyren instructed in a quiet whisper.

Harry shrugged and did as asked walking behind the daemon until he reached the center of the field, the silver ropes where no longer present, neither was Edwand's body.

Leonor stepped forward and placed possessive hands on both of the teen's shoulders before turning to the crowd and speaking once again in a language that Harry did not understand. There was a surprised gasp from the crowd, a huge smile on Prince Kiran's face, an angry one on the princesses at whatever the immortal announced.

After the long silence that followed the announcement, the audience applauded politely, while whispering urgently to one another. Leonor spun Harry to face him and leaned down whispering quietly "I will explain later my son" and kissed him quickly on both cheeks, before standing up and turning towards the Prince and Princess.

Harry felt his mouth fall open in surprise at Leonor's words, as well as an embarrassingly warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest.

"Your majesties, I wish to begin the process of claiming one mortal, Harry James Potter as the next to my line and my blood son" Leonor announced in a serious tone.

If it was possible Princesses Selene's expression became even darker as Prince Kiran's smile went up in wattage.

"Your statement is accepted, you have royal approval to do so. His training and education will fall to you as will his protection and well being….do you accept Marquees Leonor Diaz?" Prince replied his formal tone belaying his exuberant expression.

"I accept" Leonor replied and bowed formally. A dark crimson light wound itself around the immortal before snaking towards Harry and doing the same.

Again there was stilted applause and Leonor gave a final bow grasping Harry by the shoulder, "Come, it is time we go home" he stated.

Harry who was distracted by the incredible feeling of warmth and security that had come from the crimson light could only nod his agreement.

Yes…home. Surprisingly enough, he thought that Leonor could become just that.


	13. Regaining equilibrium

**Here is the next chapter, thanks to everyone who reviewed! to answer a few reviewers...yes I am quite pleased that Harry will have someone too look out for him, and yes there may be something in the works for Zyren and Harry. though they will not be the main pairing fro this fanfic. **

**This chapter as alittle on archery. please excuse my lack of knowledge in the area, I hopefully didn't butcher the sport too badly...as Always PLEASE REVIEWWWW!**

**Chap 12: Regaining equilibrium**

_"__If you do a good deed to reap the reward of blessings, wouldn't you be performing a selfish act?"  
― __Kamil Ali__, __Profound Vers-A-Tales_

The days turned to weeks, which amassed to months and slowly Harry felt as though he was finding a rhythm to daily life in the shadow realm. After the rather tumultuous first few days, things slowed down to a steadier pace.

Not to say that Harry was not suffering even in this calmer atmosphere. He had never before realized just how out of shape he was. He quickly came to the conclusion that just because he was thin, did not mean that he was fit. Sure he had some exercise dodging Dudley and his lovely friends, as well as working himself to the bone in chores and gardening however his lack of food while doing these things had prevented him from developing muscle.

So really, now that he was being pushed to the brink everyday by the slave driver that was known as Zyren he was feeling the effects. Though after a few weeks he found that he was slowly adjusting and actually starting to enjoy parts of his new regime.

He found he rather liked the morning runs, he had always been fast and now that he had proper sustenance he did not tire as quickly. Plus it was really the only time of the day that he had to himself, to just think. Every other second of the day was taken up with other training sessions for both his body and his mind.

He found himself quite liking Chavi and found that she was a brilliant teacher. Considering everything that he had ever heard about elves, stated that they were aloof and snobby, he found that in regards to Chavi at least that this could not be further from the truth.

The biggest thing he had to fear from her when he screwed up was getting pranked relentlessly. Despite loving the playfulness of the elf it made him feel a tad guilty, almost as if she was a replacement for Sirius. He was quick to smother these traitorous thoughts….no one would ever replace his godfather, he knew this. So instead he decided to just embrace the elf and ignore the twinges in his gut.

And while the elf was endlessly patient and friendly, his other instructor, Zyren was anything but. The Daemon was nothing if not confusing. His actions and attitude made little sense to the teen. It would have been easier if he was just plain rude, and conceding… at least Harry could have been confidant in the fact that Zyren despised him. But No, the daemon had to be difficult, one minute he acted as if Harry was nothing put a unwanted spot of dirt on his shoe, the next he would look at the teen with something that if Harry hadn't known it was impossibility, he would have sworn was pride….and well something else.

If anything the daemon made Harry unbelievably nervous. He told himself he was simply apprehensive because the daemon did not like him, and he wanted to succeed and prove the daemon wrong. But he knew even as he told himself this that he was lying. He could not help but notice how unfairly attractive the volatile man was. It wasn't in the same way that the other immortals were beautiful. It was different…there was something unhinged, threatening, challenging about the daemon.

Harry had to wonder what it was about him that made him want to be closer to those that wished him harm. Surely, if he was entirely sane he would have felt attraction towards some quiet, nice witch….but nooo….he couldn't even do that right.

He sighed and straightened his back again, pulling the bow string back as hard as he could as he tried to hold the thin wooden shaft of his chosen arrow steady, ignoring his shaking arm muscles. Zyren had decided that although his cardiovascular strength had improved drastically over the past few weeks, his upper body strength still had a ways to go.

That and the fact that his aim still left something to be desired, there was a reason he was a seeker and not a chaser in Quiditch. These weaknesses had of course led Zyren to the conclusion that learning archery would be the best way to correct his deficits.

So, far it had not been going very well. They had started out with a long bow, but after seeing that there was no way in hell that Harry could steady both himself and the incredibly tall bow, the daemon had relented and allowed him to use a short bow instead. While this helped with the whole balance issue, it was not doing much to improve his aim.

After two straight hours of shooting, and retrieving his arrows (which were not easy to find, given his aim) Harry was beyond frustrated and exhausted.

"No! You are not listening! You are arching your back to much, use your whole body not just your back muscles….you are only going to end up injuring yourself" Zyren snapped at him, again. It was not the first time that he had told the teen this.

Harry scowled but attempted to do what the daemon was saying; problem was he really didn't understand what he meant. And he would be damned if he asked the stupid fire starter to explain further, this would just lead to him getting mocked by the superior git.

So trying to will his aching body to obey, he once again pulled the string back and released the arrow, if anything his attempts were just getting more and more ridiculous. Proven by the fact that the arrow barely even arched this time, landing mere feet from them.

He let out a groan of irritation, wishing more than anything to slam his head repeatedly into the trunk of the tree he was suppose to be hitting with arrows. At least that would give him a different type of pain to concentrate on besides the one currently trying to split his head in two.

So preoccupied with his current distress, he did not even notice that the daemon was no longer standing to the side. He did however let out a rather embarrassing squeak when he felt Zyren standing behind him, hands on his wrists, body pressed tightly to his back.

"Stop squirming like a little girl…." The daemon growled at him tightening his grip, "I will show you what I mean, because obviously your brain is not capable of understanding"

Harry let out a hiss of annoyance but stopped his struggle; it wasn't like it would help anyway. Plus maybe if he listened to the arrogant daemon he would be finished sooner and get to go and enjoy a long hot shower that much quicker.

He made himself focus one how the daemon was moving his stance, straightening Harry's back with unforgiving hands, and moving his hips to align with his new stance. He also determinedly ignored the warm feeling churning in his stomach, and moving south.

This time instead of stepping away from Harry and having him shoot the arrow, Zyren kept his hands on the teens and moved his arms and shoulders so that the bow was being held in the appropriate position. He drew the teen's arms back,

"Alright now release….see the difference?" Zyren asked as the arrow shot forward in a arch and wedged itself into the target.

Still trying to ignore his own reactions to the daemon being so close, Harry nodded mutely, a blush coloring his cheeks.

"Good, now again, only by yourself" the daemon instructed stepping back hastily, as he noticed his own reactions to the teen's proximity.

Concentrating on the bow and arrow in his hands, Harry closed his eyes and let himself recall the positioning the daemon had placed him in; once again the arrow shot forward hitting the target.

He could not stop the happy smile that sprang forward, even Zyren allowed a small smile. "Very good, much better…perhaps there is hope for you yet" he stated.

Ignoring the comment Harry rolled his eyes and practically skipped to retrieve the arrow. Steeling his nerve he turned back to his instructor, "Sir…." He started, he had never taken to calling his teachers master, it was a little to submissive to him, "can I ask you a question?"

Zyren sighted, but figured that the teen had earned a bit of a break, they had been going at this for a while now and although the Harry had glared and muttered he hadn't complained. "I believe you will do so whether or not I give you permission"

Harry smirked slightly, before adopting a serious expression again, "Um…I-well I was just wondering about what happened with-well with the fight and all…" He trailed off uncertainly, scuffing his toe in the grass in front of him.

Zyren quirked a dark brow at him, "yes?"

"Um…well I was going to ask Leonor but I-I didn't want to appear unappreciative….I-I was just wondering what he said, and well what he meant when he called me….his….well his son" He said the last word barely above a whisper.

Zyren had to bite back his surprise. Didn't the teen know? He was a little surprised that no one had explained it to the child. "No one told you?" he asked his voice full of suspicion.

Harry shook his head. Zyren sighed and gestured for the boy to sit next to him on the stone bench facing the grove of trees. Harry hesitantly walked over and sat down, muscles tense.

"Relax, I won't attack you. Your lesson for today is over. What Leonor said after the fight was just his official announcement that he was taking you as his decsendee, or as mortals would put it….son"

"Wh-what does that mean…exactly? Why would he do that?" Harry asked uncertainly, as if he was expecting to be punished for his questions.

Zyren scowled, not at the boy but at his hesitance… he had heard a little about the state the teen had been found in. It was the worst of crimes; even daemons knew to take care of their young. Other's young they had no such compunctions towards.

"There are two ways that immortal's can bring a mortal to our realm, the first is the most popular. That is to take you as a bonded, basically the mortal exists for the immortal's pleasures….whatever they may be" Zyren explained, noting the shudder that went through Harry's body before continuing, "this is what most of the realm expected when Leonor arrived with you. When he did not officially….claim you, this left you open to being claimed by another. However, because Leonor fought for you and won, he was free to use the second option. He was free to start the process of claiming you as a sire or his son"

Zyren paused to be sure that Harry was following his explanation so far, "This is a lengthy process it normally takes the better part of two years. He initiated it by officially making his intentions clear to the rulers of this realm. The second step was also realized as the rulers….well the Prince at least, recognized this claim and approved of it. The third step is finding an official sponsor; generally they serve as outside guider or role model to the intee…."

"Do I have a sponsor yet?" Harry asked curiously.

"I believe that you actually will have two, it is a little unorthodox but given who Leonor is and who you will be once you have completed this process it is not entirely surprising…." Zyren hedged.

"Who I will be? And do you know who my sponsors are?" Harry asked his brow furrowing slightly with confusion.

"Yes….as too who you will be, as I am sure you are aware your sire is brother to the princess, and a marquiees in his own right. As such you will eventually be expected to play a role in the royal court…" Zyren stated, seeing the disgusted look on Harry's face he hurried to continue, "As for your sponsors….I believe that besides myself….Severus will serve as your other"

This had the wanted effect of completely distracting the teen, "You?!...and… ?" he asked his tone aghast.

Zyren smirked at him, "Yes….is that a problem, Pettit combatant?"

Harry took one look at the daemon's face and gulped, now was not the time to for his body to be acting up…."No" he all but squeaked out, ducking his head to hide the blush threatening to overtake his face.

"Good….aside form sponsors, you will have a final test. A fight of your own right…..the royal's will choose your challenger, they will be magical but not immortal. If you are successful in that then Leonor will use one of his one of his two selections"

"Selections?" Harry asked, finally beating his embarrassment back into submission.

"As an immortal we have two choices. We can choose two mortal's to turn before ending our own existence….these selections are not easy to make and not everyone can be selected, magic must approve of the decision or the selected will simply die before transforming." Zyren stated.

"Turning? As in no longer being mortal? W-what if I don't want that? Will I be forced?" Harry asked the panic that he was feeling becoming evident in his increasingly tense questions.

Zyren sighed, but answered, "No. you cannot be forced to take the turn, although it is likely that if a immortal is determined that they will just stalk you until you agree….but no, technically you cannot be forced"

Harry let out a sigh of relief, he was not sure he wanted to be immortal. Unlike so many others, he did not fear death… in his opinion it might actually be a bit of a relief, so far life had been far from enjoyable, who knew? Perhaps death would be better.

"You still have two years to go before you have to decide anyway…" Zyren stated, turning towards him. In a most uncharacteristic gesture, the Daemon reached out and gave Harry's shoulder what could only be deemed a reassuring squeeze. "Don't dismiss the option too soon Pettit combatant, you might sell yourself short" he murmured, letting his hand linger slightly longer then necessary on the raven haired teen's bare shoulder.

And with that the daemon stood and walked away, leaving Harry once again with numerous question and few answers.


	14. An itch

**So here is the next chapter, this will be the last in the shadow realm...so Draco will be enterning teh story shortly. This is not the last of the shadow realm however. The book harry is reading is one of Sue Grafton's an admittedly guilty pleasure of mine. I highly recomend reading the series if you like the murder mystery genre and like sarcasm. **

**Anyhow please read adn review! Hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 13: An itch**

_"__...and the vessel was not full, his intellect was not satisfied, his soul was not at peace, his heart was not still."  
― __Hermann Hesse__, __Siddhartha_

**10 years later shadow realm time, 2 months mortal realms time**

Harry felt a content smile spread across his face as he leaned back into the warm body behind him, relishing in the comfort that was his on again off again lover provided.

"Are you going to lay here all day, petit combatant?" Zyren whispered nuzzling his ear with the daemon's nose.

"mmph" Harry muttered back, muffled by the pillow he had pulled to him and was currently attempting to use to block out the morning light.

"I didn't heeear you" Zyren said in a sing song voice, moving from Harry's ear to placing butterfly kisses along the back of his neck.

Harry groaned rolling over to allow his lover better access to his bare back, "that feels good….don't stop" he muttered, ignoring the amused chuckles from the daemon.

"So easy to please, mon amour" Zyren murmured into his back moving slowly down tracing his vertebrae.

Harry shivered and bit back a moan, "n-not easy….y-you just happen to be exceptionally skilled at that" he gasped out as Zyren bit into his hip lightly.

"True" Zyren agreed amiably

Harry let out a choked laugh as Zyren physically flipped him over and set out to prove just how talented he really was, "evil prat" he sputtered as the daemon teased him mercilessly.

"Well I am a demon love" Zyren retorted smiling wickedly up at him from where he was currently pleasantly torturing the immortal to death.

"Stop talking" Harry growled.

The daemon did just that.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

An hour later Harry stepped out of the shower and quickly got dressed for the day. He really should not have wasted so much time this morning….but well Zyren had been rather persuasive. That and more and more now Harry was finding it difficult to feel content with his life here.

It wasn't that it was unpleasant or in any way not the best years he had experienced in his short life, he just felt…. well he wasn't sure how to describe it, but an itch was probably the closest description that fit. He felt restless like something was not quite right; like something was missing… he felt the need to move to change, despite how he had grown to love his life in the shadow realm.

He knew that he hadn't been masking his anxiety all that well; no one had said anything but he knew that Zyren, Leonor and Prince Kiran had noticed. If he was being truthful, Severus had probably noticed as well, though he wasn't sure the immortal would really care.

They still had a rather odd relationship, it was no longer as hostile or strained as it had been when he had first arrived in the realm, and most definitely was not nearly as poisonous as it had been in the mortal realm, but they were still uneasy around each other. Though he liked to think that they had reached an understanding somewhere in the third year of his stay. He was pretty sure that Severus no longer saw him as a clone of his mortal father, and he definitely had grown to respect the dedication and sacrifices Severus was willing to make in the name of his prince.

Either way, he knew that Zyren had picked up on his changing behavior, he knew he had been far moodier these past few months. He tried not to feel too guilty over this. He knew that the daemon had grown more attached to him then he had to the daemon. It wasn't that he didn't love the daemon in a way…he did. He had grown to rely on the caustic daemon in a way that he had never relied on anyone before beside Leonor, not even Sirius. But there was something holding him back, something just did not feel quite complete, despite how desperately wish it did.

Speak of the daemon… Zyren was leaning casually against the kitchen counter drinking coffee while perusing one of his reports. Although early on in Harry's stay, the daemon had spent a large amount of his time working and training the teen, after his change Zyren had taken up his other responsibilities once again, namely acting as strategic adviser to the Prince.

This position often demanded that he travel with the prince's forces to other realms, well realms that the shadow realm had conflict with. This caused his time with Harry to be rather intermittent and sporadic. It worked for them; well at least it had in the earlier years. Lately, Harry sensed that Daemon wanted something more stable and continuous then their haphazard one offs.

"Is that on the turmoil in galaxias kyklos?" Harry asked nodding at the paper Zyren was perusing.

"Yes, it's ridiculous really….I don't quite understand what there is too fight over in that forsaken gas pit" Zyren answered distractedly handing a second cup of coffee to Harry, which he accepted gratefully.

Harry had always found it rather amusing that immortal's had as much as an obsession over the caffeinated beverages as some muggles seemed to, personally he still preferred tea but when in Rome and all that….

"Is Kiran going to send someone to keep tabs on the situation?" He asked pulling one of the tall stools out and perching on it. He still was embarrassingly short, although not quite as short as he had been when he arrived, thank Merlin.

Zyren looked up and shot him an admonishing glare, "_Prince_ Kiran, Harry…not all of us can get away with that level of familiarity"

Harry's wide eyed innocent look was offset by the smirk he shot his lover, "yes, well not all of you are as adorable as I," he shot back batting his eyes.

Zyren snorted and rolled his eyes, "Yes, well not all of us look like a life sized doll"

Harry glared at him, "I do NOT look like a doll" he muttered petulantly.

"Of course not love" Zyren nodded full of insincere agreement.

"hmmph, maybe I can still convince him to exile one annoying daemon" Harry muttered.

Zyren shot him a wounded look, "I'm hurt…"

Harry shot him a look before returning to the topic at hand, "So you do not think you will be sent away then?"

"I doubt it; this is far too small to be of concern to the Prince…." Zyren trailed off looking suddenly uncomfortable, "Harry…"

"What? You might as well spit out whatever you have been angsting over these past few days" Harry replied with a sigh setting down the paperback novel he had stolen from Chavi (the elf had a weird obsession with muggle murder stories, he had found a whole series dedicated to the alphabet… he had absconded with the K is for killer one.)

There was a long pause before Zyren gave in and dove into the conversation, "You are planning on leaving aren't you?" he asked no accusation but rather resignation in his question.

Harry sighed, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably (it was a habit that neither Leonor nor Zyren had succeeded in ridding him of), "Yes….You knew that I would eventually….I never planned on staying past a decade here"

Despite the fact that the daemon had obviously expected this answer, his shoulders slumped none the less. Harry fought down his guilt, he didn't want to hurt the daemon but it was something that he just had to do.

"I know….I just…don't know….I thought that maybe you had moved past your previous life? Why do you feel responsible to go back and fix those fool's mess? You are not even one of them any longer" Zyren questioned.

Harry stopped to consider what the daemon was saying. It was true, he really did not have any real connection to the mortal realm, his time there had been mainly painful and disappointing. He really couldn't explain the pull that he felt. It wasn't as if he wanted to go back, he felt that he _needed _to.

He thought that maybe Voldemort was unfinished business and that was the reason he felt this itch, though in all honesty something was telling him that wasn't the reason. In truth when Leonor had finally completed the transformation, just after Harry's seventeenth birthday (well physical seventeenth, he really was not all that sure what age he was considering the time change between the two realms), Harry had felt more and more distance between him and his previous life.

He finally understood some of the immortal's callous attitude towards their mortal counterparts, he found that he didn't particularly like the feeling he got around mortals now. Though he still found that he was far less demeaning towards mortals then his counterparts.

Regardless for the reason he just knew that he had to return. He had wondered briefly what it would be like going back to the mortal realm, he may not look that much older (although he did look drastically different) but he was mentally at least twenty-five now. His body was forever frozen in his seventeen year old form, however thanks to the brutal training and nutrition regime, that body was no longer the scrawny, emaciated one he had lived with most of his life.

Still he thought he might grow to regret allowing Leonor to change him at such a young age, but that was neither here nor there now. What's done was done.

"Truthfully, I don't know Zee" Harry replied ignoring the daemon's grimace at the nickname Harry had bestowed upon him. At first he had done it to simply rankle the irritating man, but it had eventually become an endearment…he knew that the daemon didn't truly mind. "I just sort of feel like something is pulling me too….I'm not really sure how to explain it" Harry finished with a shrug.

If anything his answer seemed to make the daemon more unhappy, but he sighed and gave a small nod, "Alright. I know there is nothing that will change your stubborn little mind….but be careful?"

Harry smiled at him, a smile full of tenderness, "You do realize I am virtually impossible to destroy now….yes?" he replied in a teasing tone.

Zyren stood up and pulled the smaller man into to his arms, "Yes…but you just never know"

"Don't worry so _dear_…I'll be fine, I promise" Harry shifted so that he was face to face with the man holding him, standing on his toes to place a chaste kiss on his lovers lips, before pulling away.

Zyren sighed to himself again as he watched the man he had grown to love leave for his upcoming meeting, he tried to tell himself that he was being ridiculous. After all there were only two immortal's in the realms history that had met grisly ends. Somehow this reassurance did help much. He had an ominous feeling in his gut about Harry's return.

He just prayed that for once his intuition was wrong.


	15. Unwelcome Return

**Hey so here is the next addition. It is harry's intial return to the mortal realm. Draco will make an appearance in the next chapter, so be patient! And no fear zyren is not out of picture as of yet. The following chapters will also start including flashbacks to harry's time in the shadow realm!**

**Read and Review! It helps keep me motivated ;)**

**Chapter14: Unwelcome return**

_"__Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed."  
― __Alexander Pope_

It was with no small amount of nostalgia that Harry said his goodbyes to the shadow realm and the immortals he had come to love over the past decade. Oh, he knew that it was but a temporary separation and he no doubt had the easier side of things, considering he would likely only be gone for a year at most, while it would be 60 years for those he was leaving behind.

He suddenly had a deeper appreciation for Severus's foul moods when in school. True, to Severus it was only a year at a time that he was away from his true brethren, but to come back and have had sixty years of change to catch up on was a little daunting…to say the least.

Still Harry knew that this was something that needed to happen, he still couldn't say why it did… but he had survived trusting his instincts so he would be a fool to question them now. Still, he could not help but feel guilty. For even though his sire had not said as much he knew that it pained Leonor to see him go.

Harry sighed before refocusing on where he was going, it had been so long (well at least to him) since he had last stepped foot in the mortal realm that he really should pay more attention to what was going on around him. Where immortals seemed to follow an unspoken rule on touch as relegated to hierarchy, mortals did no such thing.

Harry had been shocked to find out that after he had been turned by Leonor, there was almost an overnight change in the attitudes of those around him. He went from being barely tolerated to greatly revered. Not only was he now the official son of a highly position marquee, but he was also (even before his change) was a favorite to the Prince.

It was weirdly reminiscent to his situation with the Dursley's and the magical world, there too he had gone from being nothing, a barely even a pariah to finding out he was seen as the savior, the golden child. Of course this situation was as much different as it was similar. This time around he had someone watching out for him rather then been simply thrown to the wolves and told to thrive.

He skirted around the crowds, carefully using his now long raven locks to act as a curtain between him and the rest of humanity. It was true that being around so many warm blooded beings was a tad overwhelming at first, but he had been well trained…it was easy enough to ignore the sweet smell of life being so carelessly flaunted by those around him.

He really did not want to interact with anyone at the moment; he would rather find a quiet corner of the train to sulk in. He knew it was his decision to come back but he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming wave of loneliness.

He had come with Severus but they had wisely split up before entering the train station, it would bring way to many questions if Harry Potter showed up with the 'despised potions professor'. Though now to think about it Severus had been adopting an almost sardonic, mocking smile whenever Harry brought up potions class. Almost as if he was privileged with knowledge the 'teen' was not.

Harry had long decided not to let it bother him, Severus was Severus…he would never be one for hugs and bunnies (well unless the bunny was an ingredient in some foul potion that is). He was just thankful that the man's scowls and barbed comments no longer contained the malicious they once had. No, Severus was more like the rude, ornery uncle that you couldn't help but feel some fondness towards.

The raven haired teen successfully found an empty out of the way compartment to situate himself in, he knew that it was unlikely to remain that way but he could hope. As he stared out the window he couldn't stop his mind from dredging up his previous worry over his sire.

_For the first few years after Harry's change, he had been too focused on adjusting and learning everything that he could from those around him to notice. It was only in his seventh year in the realm that he started to note that while Leonor was incredibly giving and warm with him, the immortal would often withdraw from everyone else around them. _

_He noted that the immortal would spend longs hours in silent contemplation and that more and more his smile did not reach his eyes. When Harry was human he had assumed that this was the way it was for all immortal's, but now that he knew several others….he realized it was not so. _

_Harry wished that his sire would confide in him, he hated to see the pain that he knew was there. He had always been incredibly protective of those he loved. He knew that he was not the only one who noticed, Kiran had made several off hand comments about it. _

_The Prince had stated that the only time that he saw the immortal truly happy was the rare moments when he let his guard down around Harry. Knowing this, Harry had delayed his return for two years. He had actually planned on remaining in the realm indefinitely….he did not want to abandon the man who had basically saved his life. _

_It seemed as though his intentions were not as well hidden as he thought however, for Leonor had pulled him aside at the end of his tenth year and given him no choice but to return. Despite his protest the immortal stated that he would only be happy when Harry was truly happy and that was not here and now. _

_Harry knew this to be true but it did not stop him from wishing things could be different. He was determined to sort out whatever it was that was drawing him away from his home as quickly as possible. _

_If not for himself… then for his sire. He would gladly give up his immortality if it meant Leonor would find happiness, so really it was the least he could do to find try and fulfill what Leonor was asking of him. _

_Even if meant leaving home_

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Neville trailed along after Hermione, Ron and Ginny dutifully. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered. As much as he wanted to view them as true friends, people who would have his back no matter what… more and more often he could not help but doubt their motivations.

He knew that they didn't truly view him as someone of worth, that they looked at him and still saw the pudgy, accident prone boy from first year…even after the fight in the Department of Mysteries. He understood that they really only interacted with him because Harry did.

If there were two people in his life that he trusted without question it was Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood. It was weird to feel this amount of trust and kinship towards two students that until last year he really had not known at all. Sure he and Harry had shared a dorm room for five years but he really had only befriended the boy-savior this past year. Well, perhaps it started in fourth it was hard to pinpoint an exact date.

He had always been a pitied child, everyone who knew the truth only saw him as the basically orphaned boy, whose parents were alive but might as well not be for all their ability to act as parents towards him. He had often found himself horrified with himself, when the traitorous thoughts of wishing that they had died that night instead of being left as broken shells entered his head.

He loved them truly, but it was more a love of an idea or duty then loving them as people. He did not know who they had been and there was no longer enough left of those people to ever truly allow him to learn to.

And he loved his grandmother in a way. Despite her strict countenance, her stringent rules and cold demeanor…she had raised him and for that he was grateful. Still at times he wished that she would look at him with something other than disappointment or regret. He knew that when she saw him, she was reminded of the son and daughter in law that she had lost.

It was this coldness that made him doubt himself….that and the fact that he would never amount to the pedestals that everyone placed his parents on. No one noticed, or seemed to care that he was not his parents, that he did not know them so could not be expected to mirror them.

No one noticed that the harder he tried, the worse he failed. No one until Harry that is. He would say that Harry was his first friend, he was the first person in Neville's life that had confidence in Neville himself and not in the expectations the boy had lived with.

In a way it made sense that it was Harry who reached out to him, after all the teen had dealt with a similar type of pressure all of his life… it was only logical that he would be the one to see Neville for who he was. And it wasn't only Neville; Harry saw Luna as someone other than a crazy girl.

He had been the link between Neville and his second ever friend.

Neville was not naïve enough to think that Harry held the same degree of reverence for their friendship as he did Harry's. But it did not matter to the boy; he knew that Harry would not shun him for it.

So, in reality he knew why he trailed after the trio… he went because he would support Harry. He somehow knew that the three in front of him would not always be there for the teen; that they would as soon stab him in the back as help him when he needed it most.

Neville wouldn't allow it. He would protect and defend his friend. He would be the stronger, braver version of himself that Harry had inspired him to be.

Whether or not his friend knew it.

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The peace and quiet that Harry was quite enjoying was short lived. He briefly wondered if they had placed a tracking charm on him, before dismissing that idea as ridiculous…after all if Dumbledore had done so it would have been completely annihilated in the other realm.

The door was pushed open and a familiar mop of bushy brown hair pushed its way in.

"Oh pardon me….we were just looking for someo…." Hermione started her brisk apology before she was cut off by shock.

"Harry?" she asked uncertainly staring at the gorgeous raven haired teen in front of her. If it hadn't been for the utterly unique color of Harry's eyes she would not have connected the teen in front of her now to the teen they had parted with just two months ago.

The Harry she knew was scrawny, malnourished, pale and carried the look of disillusionment in his face and posture. The teen in front of her oozed confidence and sex appeal. He was casually slouched, his lean legs draped in front of him to reach the seat across from him. His clothing was neat and expensive looking, well tailored to show off a lean but muscular body.

What had once been a mess of dark hair was now replaced by long dark hair pulled neatly into a low pony tail, tied with a dark black ribbon at the nape of the teen's neck. The identifying eyes that had always been hidden behind ugly round glasses were now on display to the world.

The look of innocent confusion that had so often been present had been replaced with a wary, calculating glean. Signs of neglect and abuse were no longer noticeable in the healthy, paleness of the teen's skin. The color only making his hair and eyes stand out in contrast.

The teen gave her a slow lazy smirk before straightening with grace that Harry would never have possessed, "indeed" he replied.

Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Neville stood there in shock. Neville seemed to recover the quickest and offered his own friendly smile before plopping down across from Harry. "Looking good mate, summer treated you well then?"

Harry shot him a genuine grin, "You could say that" he answered cryptically before turning to the remaining gaping trio and quirking an eye brow, "Are you going to continue standing there with your mouths wide open or are you going to shut them and sit down?"

Ron flushed a brilliant red with either embarrassment or anger at Harry's comment, in all honesty Harry really didn't care which. He had decided before returning he was done pussy-footing around everyone and trying to live up to their expectations.

He had never asked to be their hero, he would be damned if he continued to change to suit their whimsies. He was no longer the insecure, ignorant boy he had once been and he refused to go back to him.

"Where have you been Harry? Everyone has been out of their minds with worry. Dumbledore has been searching high and low for you ever since you disappeared from Privet Drive! Especially after the death eater killed your uncle!" Hermione started up immediately.

Harry had to fight to hide his amusement, trust the brunette to demand answers immediately. Where her need for knowledge (even if it was really none of her business) would have once infuriated him, now it just amused him.

He already knew that the Minstery had decided that a death eater had somehow found his previous home residence and tried to exact revenge on the savior for the whole Department of Mysteries debacle. And while it pained him to use the event that killed his beloved godfather as a cover for his uncle's death, he would do it.

He knew that if he admitted the truth… that he had killed his uncle trying to defend his life that the public would immediately cast him as the next dark lord. He now understood their fickleness after his horrid fifth year.

He would allow the Ministry's desperate attempt to suck up to him, now that they knew that Voldemort was truly back to sweep the whole mess under the rug. He no longer felt regret over his uncle's death, as Leonor had reminded him countless times it was his uncle or him.

He had not made any bones about hiding his relief to being forever free of that house of horrors.

"I'm sorry Hermione… but I wasn't home when it happened… I was visiting a friend and when we came back and saw the body I freaked out….after all, only those in the order know where I live. I didn't know who to trust or turn to without putting them or myself in further danger. So I stayed with my friend, he owns a perfectly safe place and hid until I could safely return to Hogwarts" Harry explained his voice soft, persuasive. Sure he was lying through his teeth, but in a way there was _some_ truth in his statement.

Leonor could count as a friend, well okay more like family but close enough. And sure he hadn't originally gone willingly with the immortal but that was beside the point now. When he had fled all those years ago, he truly hadn't known where to go or who to trust, so in a way that wasn't a lie.

He could tell that they bought it, by the subtle relaxing in their postures…though he saw something in Neville's eye that suggested that perhaps he hadn't fooled all of them.

"Oh Harry! You could have come to us! We would have protected you…" Ginny stated. Before Harry had run he would have found this sediment heartwarming, now it only served to irritate. Where he had once found Ginny attractive he now felt a strong urge to move away from her.

Sure he had already known he was gay back then, though at the time he hadn't found himself repulsed by the clingy redhead. Something to ponder….

He wanted to point out that he couldn't possibly have come to them as they had been hidden away in his dead grandfather's home, warded to the hilt against owls and intruders.

After his godfather's death he wasn't even sure if he could get through the wards, another thing he would have to check. He still needed to visit the goblins and sort that all out. He had sent a brief letter of explanation when he was in the other realm and had received confirmation that he was indeed now legally an adult, and thus in full control of his fortunes.

It had stated that he would have to make a visit to the wizarding side of the bank, as that was what his parents and godfather where before they died. It didn't really bother him, he was actually rather shocked that he would still be able to inherit any of the wealth after his change.

Luckily goblins had a much friendlier view on creatures then wizards did. Making a brief mental note to himself to set up a meeting later this week (being immortal did come with some perks such as a power level boost which would allow him to apparate to and from Hogwarts, despite the wards).

He pulled himself back to the present where his friends were apparently still arguing over his decisions. Sighing to himself he decided to let them continue on. He knew that they meant well, but….well they were such children!

He should have expected it really; he had been surrounded by beings that were all well over a century in years, and he himself was now a decade older mentally then his friends.

"And what do you mean you stayed with a friend?" Ron finally contributed to the argument apparently getting sick of Hermione and Ginny's conversation.

Harry had to forcefully stop himself from groaning and rolling his eyes, trust Ron to be jealous over the thought that he had friends outside them. Deciding he would nip this newest bout of jealousy in the bud he answered his voice full of cold authority.

"Exactly what I said Ron, a friend. And before you ask…no I am not going to tell you his name or where I stayed. Just know that I trust him with my life…that will have to be good enough"

The shocked spluttering look on Ron's face was rather priceless, though it was interrupted by another admonishment from Hermione.

"Harry! Why won't you tell us! We are your friends…how do you know that this friend of yours wasn't using you? He could have handed you right over to Voldemort!"

Harry didn't bother to hide his eye roll this time and was about to answer when to the surprise of everyone in the compartment, including Harry, Neville broke in.

"Obviously Harry's friend did not hand him over to V-Voldemort as he is with us now, looking better then he has ever looked following summer. Harry can have some secret's Hermione. Leave him be" the only now slightly pudgy boy stated his voice full of determination despite the slight stutter over the dark lords name.

Harry sent his friend a thankful smile, while the other three just stared at him in stunned silence. It would seem as if Harry wasn't the only one who had under gone a change this summer. There was no trace of meek, shyness in the other boy's gaze now.

After a few moments of peaceful silence it seemed as if Hermione had once again recovered her wits and was about to start up again. By this point Harry had, had more than enough.

He had thought he was prepared to come back and slide back into his former position, perhaps slightly more knowledgeable and much more lethal…but right now he needed a break.

He really did not want to see what would happen if he let his irritation take over. Standing up suddenly he cut the brunette off of whatever she had been about to say.

"I need some air. I will be back in a bit" the lanky teen stated before leaving the compartment just as abruptly.

While the other three resumed their stunned expressions at this cold departure, Neville fought to hide a grin. Perhaps he wouldn't have to watch his friends back quite as closely as he had feared.

Harry Potter had changed. And in Neville's opinion it was for the better.


	16. Fatal Attractions

**Hey so few things. I will not be updating for next several days as I am away...sorry!**

**Also just wanted to give a special thanks to a few readers who have left a few reviews, knowning your still reading is very motivating!**

**So thanks: daithi4377, Yana5. GwathienLight, geetac, adenoide, Vladimir Mithrander, Z, Fae0306, and Meany!**

**Also Autumngold-thanks for your review! yes harry will have to deal with his old acquatences now that he is back. However he is smarter and more cunning this time around so hopefully that will help him ;)**

**Again thanks to everyone whose still reading (sorry if I missed your name)...enjoy!**

**Chap 15: Fatal attractions**

_The problem with human attraction is not knowing if it will be returned."  
― __Becca Fitzpatrick__, __Hush, Hush_

Draco huffed in annoyance as he stepped out of the 'Slytherin compartment', letting the door close with a little more force then was proper. Merlin, he couldn't believe that he had let everything get to him so easily. He had known that he would have to don his mask again when he saw the rest of his housemates.

Not that he had ever had the chance to let the mask slip….he shuddered at that thought. He could only imagine what would have happened if anyone had been able to see what he was truly thinking this summer.

He would not have survived, of that he was sure.

He felt another shudder move down his spine as he recalled his Aunt's Bella's insane smile. No, this summer had been hell….it was the only way to describe it. He may have left Hogwarts last year a naïve, spoiled little boy, but after spending two months in the same manor as the Dark Lord it was safe to say he had grown up, and grown up fast.

He felt as if he had aged a decade in a matter of months.

It was only last year that he had happily bought into what he now knew was his father's insanity; believing all of the rubbish about pure blood, and the need to save magic. Not anymore though.

He had to wonder about the state of sanity in the Death Eaters, if he, a mere teenager was able to see the irony over following a man who looked more snake then human in his bid to rule the world and cleanse it of impurity, surely adults who had more schooling and much more experience should be able to?

It was a miracle that he had made it onto the train without a ugly scab adorning his left forearm, but he knew it was only a matter of time. There was no way that he could count on his father or mother to save him from the Dark Lord's whims.

Hell, they would likely carve him up and offer his organs as a show of loyalty if so asked by the red eyed might bring it up to his godfather, Severus….but in all honesty he still hadn't been able to decipher where the man's loyalties lay.

He had hardly seen his grim faced godfather that summer; he had been there for a brief period at the start and then had left on some assigned task. Whether it had been assigned by the Dark Lord or Dumbledore he did not know.

He knew that Severus's soft spot for him would likely protect him from any fallback if he were to confide in the man, but it had been so ingrained in him not to trust, that he was wary of a man who had the best poker face he had ever seen (what? So he had been covertly partaking in a muggle past time last year…sue him).

So, yes when he had sat down in the Slytherin compartment, surrounded by his so-called friends' twisted bragging about their own chances of receiving the blasted mark he had needed to get some air.

Oh, he was pretty sure he had them all believing that he was just as eager as them to kneel down before a madman but he didn't trust his acting skills enough to remain… if he had to listen to Pansy's nasal tone discussing the muggle that her father had carved up.

He honestly could not understand the pride he heard in her voice. Even if she did see muggles and muggleborns as animals (which if Malfoy was going to be honest he too had a hard time not believing that of the magic-less idiots), at what point was it considered couth to discuss the slaughtering of said animals?

He was pretty sure that most people would look down on discussing the dissection of a pork shoulder at their dinner parties. He had to wonder if it was the inbreeding or overuse of dark magic that was to blame.

He shrugged to himself, it's not that it really mattered how they became twisted, just the fact that they were was reason enough to want an out. But really who could he go too for that out?

He was not a Gryffindor, and therefore did not foolishly believe that he would be able to escape on his own and yet he was too Slytherin to be able to truly trust anyone else with this secret. His mask had forced him into isolation from those who would help him selflessly. And well, there was no way in hell he trusted anyone he was close too to help him without consequence.

He did not trust Dumbledore enough to even share the most mundane fact about himself. He was sure if he went to the ancient headmaster he would end up in an even more precarious position then he already was in. Most likely the old goat would want him to act as a spy, something he had absolutely no interest in. He wasn't suicidal after all.

There was really only one person he could see who would be willing to listen and put himself at risk in order to help Draco. Unfortunately, it was the one person that Draco's massive amount of pride would prevent him from seeking out. The only person he knew who would be self sacrificing enough to risk his own skin to help the selfish, vain, nemesis …was of course the golden boy, Harry Fucking Potter.

And there was absolutely no way in hell that Draco was going to ask him for anything. Oh, he knew he was being incredibly stupid, risking his own hide all over the school boy need to preserve his pride. He knew that the grudge he held towards the raven haired teen was beyond childish.

In his mind, however illogical it was, he saw Potter's refusal to shake his hand, the start of the landslide that had brought his life into the mess that it was currently. Up until then he had always been granted everything he had asked for… he had been his parent's baby…their darling.

When Potter refused his hand all those years ago, it was the first time in Draco's short life that he could not bully, bribe or harass his father into getting it for him. Then the fact that the skinny, speckled git who acted as if he had no knowledge or respect for the wizarding traditions he was born too, continuously out shone him in everything.

Well everything that counted anyhow. He walked around the school like he owned it (well inDraco's admittedly bias pov anyway), got away with breaking rules like they were nothing, and pretended to be this modest, attention shy hero. It was beyond aggravating.

Most of all he denied Draco his attention. It was one thing to hate him or pick fights with him, but to ignore him? It infuriated the blond teen. He knew it was stupid to constantly pick fights and annoy the boy savior all so his attention would be on Him, Draco. But he couldn't help it.

Every time he was outside Potter's presence he swore to himself that next time he would do better, he would be the mature one and walk away. But as soon as he set eyes on the teen, all thoughts of walking away vanished and the need to ruffle the golden boy's feathers was overwhelming.

So, long story short. No he would not ask Potter.

Speaking of which, he had yet to go and harass the golden trio yet. It was a beginning of year tradition after all….

No! he told himself sternly he was going to ignore the prat, he was serious….he meant it this time. He did!

So lost was he in his mental argument that he was not paying attention to where he was walking and found himself colliding with something…no, someone who was rather hard and solid.

"mmmph…" he let out as all the air in his lungs was knocked from him and he felt the force of the impact sending him down. He was already screwing up his eyes preparing for the hard collision of his backside and the aisle floor, only to be surprised when it never came.

Instead he found two rough hands grasping his upper arm and elbow preventing his fall. He stood stock still for a moment trying to recover from his surprise before he felt the hands release him, allowing him to regain his balance and straighten.

Having gathered his wits he opened with a scathing reprimand, "Watch where you are going you olf! You nearly killed me!" Only after the words had left his mouth did he look up at his victim …er assailant. Right his fault, not Draco's….

He had to bite back a gasp of surprise, as he took in the lean, muscular, dark haired teen in front of him, studiously ignoring the way all of his blood was rushing either southward or to his pale face.

"mmm….no, Malfoy had I wanted to kill you I would like to think I would have done so more stealthy then a collision in the school train aisle" the teen stated, his voice full of amusement, a wry grin on his face.

Why did his voice sound so bloody familiar?

"Cat got your tongue? You are usually so much more verbose when I see you" the teen smirked, his eyes full of mirth at the flummoxed blond in front of him. If he was being truthful, he had kind of missed the blond's disdain riddled remarks and barbs. He had to admit there was no one who could get under his skin like the blond pureblood.

Suddenly Draco's brain caught up with him, "P-potter?" he stuttered unbelieving. But even as he asked he knew it too be true, this raven haired god was someone the once skinny, speckly little menace. How the hell had he changed so much in a matter of months?

"Gets it in one" Potter answered, smirk never leaving his face. And that's another thing… since when did Potter smirk?!

Draco finally managed to regain his senses, plastering a disdainful sneer on his face (much to his chagrin, the sneer only made the idiot grin wider), "You are blocking the aisle Potter….move"

Potter gave him a shit-eating grin before giving a mock bow and moving aside, "Your wish is my command your highness"

Draco did not know what he wanted to do, he was pretty sure punching the smug git in the face would not be all that remiss. Since when did the Golden boy find things funny? Or use sarcasm? The Potter he knew would be red faced and fuming by now.

All in all it was very disconcerting.

Not sure what else to do, Draco hastily stepped around the admittedly fit Gryffindor and all but ran back towards the Slytherin compartment.

They might be childish, morbid and annoying but at least they were familiar. Trust Potter to completely change the rules of their game.

…..Stupid git

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Harry entered the great hall in a surprisingly good mood. Surprising, because before his run in the poncey blond git, he had been in a rather foul one. Really a little bit of banter (most of it one-sided admittedly) should not cheer him up so much.

Well, never mind he wasn't going to read too much into the fact that he maybe, just a little bit, missed verbal sparring with the blond. Nope. Not reading….what so ever.

Of course his good mood did not last long as he was greeted with now all too familiar stunned silence, as he walked in to the hall trailing after Hermione and Ron. Who at this point had given the interrogation a rest (Not that he expected that it was over in anyway, but it was nice for a small respite).

No, instead he was currently engaging Neville in a conversation about the defense reading that the shy boy had done over the summer. It seemed as if the Defense club had given Neville the confidence to start looking to further his knowledge in the subject on his own.

Something that before last year he wouldn't have even given a thought. Harry found himself irrationally proud of his friend for slowly breaking out of his shell. No, that wasn't the reason for the falling of his stomach.

It had been so long since he had been the center of attention. Well, okay that was not entirely true…back in the Shadow realm, especially when he first arrived he had been greeted by the majority of attention wherever he ventured.

But these last few years had gotten better, he no longer felt like he was a freak on display for the perusal of everyone else. It was amazing how easy it was to forget that feeling.

The minute the group stepped into the crowded, buzzing atmosphere of the hall, all noise stopped at once. Harry could instantly feel several hundred pairs of eyes beating into him. If he had been the easily embarrassed boy from ten years ago, he would have likely turned red, stumbled and ducked his head from their appraisal.

But he was no longer that child, so he ignored the curious stares, the hushed whispers. Keeping his head high, shoulders back and posture straight he made his way confidently over to their usual sitting place at the Gryffindor table.

He ignored the fact that the other three were stumbling awkwardly after his swift, graceful gait, calmly sitting and arranging himself at the table. He had plans for causing a fair amount of chaos and upheaval this term but for now he would sit back and observe.

He resisted the urge to peer up at the staff table, where he was certain (and correctly so) Dumbledore and most of his professors would be staring back at him.

He knew that Dumbledore's blue eyes would be twinkling away, despite how irritated he was sure the man was with him. He had after all given the old man the slip for two months, without so much as a note, so yes, he was sure that the headmaster would like dearly to speak with him.

He was also certain that the rest of the staff's would be a mixture of stern, disproval (McGonagall), muted amusement (Flitwick), resigned acceptance (Severus), and relief (Hagrid). Having ten years and plenty of time to reflect, had left him with a fairly solid assessment of his professors personalities.

"So, bloody hungry…I swear mate I could eat a bloody hippogriff" Ron was whining piteously, while Hermione glared and shushed him.

'Quiet Ron! You just ate on the train, honestly! Now listen to what Dumbledore has to say…it could be important!" Hermione hissed, slapping the red head's arm.

"Owww….mione" He whined massaging his arm petulantly.

Harry bit back a sigh of irritation; honestly he was going to go mad before classes even started if he had to listen to those two. He had forgotten just how childish they could be. A long time away had diminished his skill at tuning them out.

He turned towards Neville praying that a conversation would help keep his irritation in check; it would not be good to antagonize his 'best friends' this early in the year. One look at the moon eyed red head ruled Ginny out as someone to talk to.

Thankfully it seemed as if Neville read his mind and the boy drew him into conversation, "Hey Harry, were you going to continue with DA this year? It was amazing last year, really helped me out and I know I'm not the only one…" Neville stated looking hopeful.

Harry was taken by surprise, he knew that Neville had enjoyed the club last year, but he really hadn't given any thought to continuing it now that Umbridge was gone. He could, he would probably have time as he still was not all that certain what the purpose of return would bring.

He looked down the table and saw that most of his housemates were not so subtly listening in; he saw several nods of agreement with Neville's statement. "Honestly I'm not sure, mate…I guess if there is enough interest and we get permission and such I would be willing"

The huge smile Neville gave him in response squashed down any doubts he had on the topic. It couldn't hurt; it might even help him get closer to the other houses. He knew he wanted to change some things while he was here….the inter-house conflict was one of those things.

Any other conversation was cut off by Dumbledore's annual announcements. Harry tuned out everything to do with rules, the forest and other nonsensical statements, only really listening in to the announcement for teaching posts.

Now that he was looking up at the staff table, he realized that there was an additional face he did not recognize. He chastised himself for his surprise, really what had been thinking? There was always a new face…someone had to fill the defense post after all.

There was no other way to describe the man sitting at the head table but too say he was round. The man was dressed in a classy royal purple set of robes, the collar buttoned up with expensive looking silver buttons, squeezing his jowls so that he resembled a poorly stuffed purple sausage.

In some ways he reminded Harry of Uncle Vernon, though the benign smile on his face was one that Harry would never have seen on his uncle's obese face. Harry felt vaguely uncomfortable as the man stared unabashedly at him with something that looked like greed in his small beady eyes.

"As for your new professors this year let us give a warm welcome to Professor Horace Slughorn who has so kindly agreed to take over the Potion's mantle here at Hogwarts…." Dumbledore was saying.

The restless students clapped politely, while whispers once more took over. Harry was surprised but clapped anyhow. At least now he knew what Severus had been smirking about whenever he brought up potions class, sneaky overgrown bat.

"And I would also like you to give a hand to our very own Professor Snape who will be taking over Defense against the Dark Arts"

Harry could hear Ron hiss in outrage, and knew that if he was too look over at the redhead, his face would be a matching rouge.

Dumbledore quickly wrapped up the rest of his speech and soon the table was groaning in rich dishes. Harry frowned slightly; while he could eat just as well as anyone else…he needed blood to help digest it. He would have to keep his meals here much smaller as he had yet to work out how he was going to supplement his diet with fresh blood.

Not that his tiny portions was anything to cause notice. He normally ate very little on return from vacation given the fact that most summers he practically starved and was unable to stomach the richer foods on return.

He spent most of the meal mashing his food around on his plate while covertly assessing the rest of the hall. He started when he noticed a certain blond Slytherin giving him the stink eye.

Not that Malfoy glaring at him was anything new, but there was something off with the blond git. He was much more nervous and shifty then Harry remembered. It wasn't enough to draw others attentions but with his heightened senses, Harry was able to pick up on the thin layer of sweat on the blonds forehead and the slightly elevated heart rate.

He shrugged pushing his observations aside for now. Malfoy was not his concern; he needed to figure out why the itch he had been feeling had all but dissipated since he got on the train.

He was only half surprised when a puny little first year hesitantly tapped his shoulder. The poor little thing looked like it was about to pass out when Harry turned to see what he wanted. Blushing furiously the boy basically threw a small rolled parchment at Harry, squeaking out what sounded like "…dumbld…see…bye" before skittering away.

Harry didn't bother to hide his amused grin as he picked up the fallen parchment, the grin changing into a grimace. Of course he had expected it.

A summons…to see Dumbledore….fan-bloody-tastic.

Harry sighed and tucked the summons away, he had not decided on whether to actually listen and go and see what the man wanted (well okay, he was pretty sure he knew exactly what the old man wanted…to stick his big nose into Harry's business), or to ignore it.

Well, either way he still had all tonight and tomorrow to decide on his strategy to dealing with the irritating Headmaster, he had time go over his options.

He found himself missing the realm. What he wouldn't give to have Zyren's or Leonor's opinion on this. He sighed knowing that it wasn't possible. This was his choice, and he would live with it.

No matter the consequences.


	17. Truth orLies

**Sorry for wait! Summer and all that...here is the next chapter let me know what you think! **

**Chapter 16: Truth or…Lies **

_"__It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one."  
― __George Washington_

Harry sighed in resignation as he approached the large stone gargoyle. Funny, that he had once viewed this place as one of sanctuary and peace. He shook his head at these thoughts, it didn't matter what he thought of the circular office ahead of him… he might as well get this meeting over with now.

He had avoided answering the headmaster's summons for the past two days, but knew that he couldn't completely alienate the man. He had waited just long enough to make it clear that he still hadn't forgiven the man for withholding information from him that might have prevented Sirius's death.

In all truth, he had been away long enough that he no longer felt much anger when looking at the elderly man… not that he could show that. He had a cover to maintain after all.

He may have forgiven the man for his previous mistakes, but he was not naïve enough to think there were any benefits in letting Dumbledore know where he had actually been for the summer (or the fact that it had been ten years since Sirius's death for him, not two months). So he would maintain the image of a grieving, angered teen until it was no longer of use to him.

The stone gargoyle did not wait for a password but stepped aside as soon as he approached it. The headmaster had been waiting for him, then. Harry shrugged it aside as not important and climbed the spiral staircase that lead to the headmaster's main office.

He had been rather grateful that the arrival banquet had been held Friday evening and the last few days had been left free for the students to settle in. He of course had used both days to hide and avoid everyone, only spending limited time helping Neville review his defense books in the library, but otherwise lying low.

He had thought that after a day or two people would get over their fascination with him and stop staring but so far that had not happened. He couldn't even go down for dinner without causing a standstill each and every time. It was more than a little annoying. He had taken to skipping meals and grabbing raw steaks from Dobby.

He knew he could trust the eager little elf to not mention his newest indulgence. It was only because of his own avoidance of the school populace that he had failed to notice that another student was also avoiding everyone.

As Harry had expected, the headmaster was waiting behind his large oak desk, hands folded in front of him when Harry arrived. "Ah my boy….it's good to see you in such good health; did you have a good summer?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling but his voice was less jovial than normal.

Harry fought back the distaste he felt when he looked at the seat the headmaster had conjured for him. Leonor truly had turned him into a snob, he thought to himself as he looked at the plush red, monstrosity in front of him. Before his stay in the realm he doubted if he would have noted the chair at all.

He was careful to keep an innocent smile on his face as he perched cautiously on the edge of the chair, if Dumbledore noticed his caution he did not comment. Harry ignored the headmaster's previous question in favor of glancing around the office. It appeared that most of the artifacts and trinkets that he had destroyed the previous term had been replaced or fixed.

Noting where the teen's gaze fell Dumbledore let out a small chuckle, "ahh yes….no worries my boy, everything was easy enough to mend…."

Harry hid the small scowl at the headmaster's attempt to guilt him by nodding briefly and turning his gaze to Fawkes, who was preening on her perch behind Dumbledore's desk. "Hullo girl" he whispered quietly knowing that with her sensitive hearing that she would hear him. He was proven correct when she gave a trill and flew over to him.

He had been worried that the fact that she was such a light creature and he was now classified as a dark one would keep her from approaching him. He was glad to be wrong, as she landed on his shoulder and pecked at his now heavily pierced right ear (What, Zyren had let it slip early on that he found the muggle habit of body decorating hot).

While pretending that his entire attention was on the beautiful bird that was on his shoulder, he kept enough of it on the headmaster to catch the slightly relieved expression that donned the man's face. Curious, it was almost as if the headmaster had also been expecting Fawkes to react badly to him.

"Well let's get down to business shall we?" Dumbledore asked after several minutes of silence. Harry was sure the old man was waiting for him to break under the stern gaze and stumble through an apology and explanation. Which of course was not about to happen.

"Where were you this summer Harry? You had everyone very worried, especially after the attack on your family…you should have let someone know" Dumbledore admonished, sending the teen his best stern look he could muster. Unfortunately for him, it did not seem to be having to intended effect on the boy, who simply shrugged not looking concerned at all.

"I was a friend's place for the summer; it was perfectly safe as he has very strong wards. I was not even home when it happened, when we found out I figured it would be safer if no one knew where I was….after all it was only Order of the Phoenix member's that knew of my home on private drive" Harry answered. He had long gotten pass feeling guilty over his actions, and thought that losing him for two months was rather just for leaving him in that situation to begin with.

"You still should have let us know Harry! I would have been able to help you" Dumbledore repeated stubbornly, seemingly dismissing Harry's reasoning.

"Once again Headmaster, it was safer for everyone including me to do it my way…" Harry ground out. He stopped himself from pointing out all the times in the past when he had needed help and the headmaster had failed him. He had hoped to have this conversation without a major fight, but that was looking less and less promising.

Dumbledore seemed to sense the words left unsaid and decided to move on, "Of course my boy, now you said you stayed with a friend? Where was this and who is your friend? I was not aware you kept in touch with anyone outside of Hogwarts…"

Harry didn't bother to hide his glare this time, "That, headmaster is none of your business; as far as I am aware I am allowed to have friends outside of school. As to his name or residence, he is a very private person and I will not dishonor his kindness by disrupting that" he stated firmly.

Dumbledore appeared as though he was going to argue but seemed to think better of it and tried his hand in another area, "hmmm….I must ask my boy, you're….well your appearance has…changed rather drastically since the beginning of June…"

Harry let out a small snort at the obviousness of that question. Changed drastically indeed. He was definitely no longer the scrawny, malnourished, four-eyed grieve-ridden boy that had blown this office apart in anger last term. "Yes, well it's amazing what being allowed outside your room and three solid meals a day will do" he stated sharply.

Dumbledore had the good grace to wince at comment, "Yes, I suppose that would help, if it hadn't been for the need of the blood wards my boy…" his apology hung in the air, voice riddled with guilt and sadness.

Harry sighed pushing back his anger and irritation, as much as he hated the fact that Dumbledore had left him in that situation he knew that the man had meant for the best, he just did not have the comprehension of what family could do to one another, or at least he didn't want to.

The old man looked as if he wanted to say more but held back letting another period of silence fall over the office. Finally, he cleared his throat, straightening, "Very well, I can see that we are not going to get anywhere on this topic…I have one other thing to discuss"

Harry nodded his acquiesce, allowing Fawkes to fly back onto her previous perch, "I'm listening"

"Due to events that happened last year…" Dumbledore started before hastily continuing at the look on the teen's face, "I think it would be wise to be able to protect your mind"

Harry didn't bother telling the man that since his transformation his mind was completely safe from outside manipulation, he was curious to hear what the man suggested, so instead he decided to continue playing on his 'innocence'. "What do you mean Professor?"

"Well there is an art called occlumency, it allows the user to build a wall of sorts to keep others from reading your thoughts or manipulating them. It is a rather forgotten art but it will be most useful to protect you from Lord Voldemort" Dumbledore explained, falling for the wide eyed intrigued look Harry was sending his way.

"H-how would I learn this professor? Is it hard" Harry asked keeping his tone innocent.

"It can be difficult, but I have faith that if you really try, you will be able to do it. As for how you will learn it… it just so happens that we have a master Occlumens here in Hogwarts….Professor Snape has agreed to give you lessons three times a week"

Harry fixed a disgruntled; unhappy look on his face as was expected of him, but inside he was quietly celebrating. This was perfect; he now had the perfect cover for disappearing to seek out the blood he would need to survive. And it just so happened to be with the Professor who already knew his secret and would need to do the same. Perfect.

"Now, now Harry….I know you and Severus have had your disagreements in the past, but I really must insist that you treat him with respect. He has agreed to do this in his own free time. It is important that no one knows what you are doing, so we are going to tell others that you are going for remedial potions lessons" Dumbledore warned, taking the disgruntled expression at face value.

"Of course sir" Harry answered keeping his voice curt, "Is that all?"

Dumbledore sighed at the surly teen but nodded, "for now…Perhaps later this term you would be interested in extra lessons from me? There are a few things that I need to tell you…"

Harry nodded without really agreeing; he had no doubt that whatever Dumbledore wished to teach him would be essentially useless, but for now he was tired and just wanted to leave.

"Very well, goodnight my boy…your first lesson with Severus will be tomorrow night" Dumbledore stated, motioning to him that he could leave.

"Right, night professor" Harry stated before fleeing from the office. He had no doubt that there were many more topics that the headmaster wished to discuss with him at the moment. Thankfully they could apparently wait for a time, one thing he was actually glad for, in all of this was the presence of his surely potions professor.

He snorted at this thought, who would have guessed that he would ever be thankful for 'remedial potions lessons?'

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Dumbledore sighed wearily to himself as he watched the new, and surely Harry leave his office. He had really hoped that the two months over the summer would help the teen's attitude.

Not that he could really blame Harry, in his place he doubted that he would be acting differently, after all the teen had just recently lost a man who he saw as family. Dumbledore stared down at his charred hand in despair, it wasn't fair of him to place so much responsibility on the boy, but it could not be helped.

Especially after his own foolish mistake, there was now no way he would be around long enough to help the teen do what needed to be done. He was forced to burden the youth's shoulders whether he wanted to or not.

Still, he could not help but feel guilty for what he had already put the Harry through. He had not known that his home life was as bad as it was. It was one of the reasons he did not say anything about the uncle's death. He had his own suspicions over whether it was caused by death eaters.

When he had arrived at the house, after feeling the surge of magic, he had found the dead man and absence of Harry. He had been horrified. It reminded far too much of another teenage boy who he had suspected of his families death fifty years ago. He had however also found the locks on one of the bedroom doors, and the blood that was obviously not Vernon's smeared across the hall, that and the cot stuffed in the cupboard under the stairs.

He had a feeling he knew what actually had happened, but he couldn't condemn the teen after what he had been through, especially since Albus knew he had a hand to play in it. So he had set fire to the house and cast the dark mark over it to cover it up. Now he wondered if he had done the right thing.

Harry was hiding something. He had changed so much from the last time Albus had seen him, not only physically but in attitude too. He was far more confidant, less volatile but also far less trusting. In truth Albus had been relieved when Fawkes had gone over to the boy. He had been fearing the worse, that Harry had turned dark after events of last year and the summer.

He knew however that a phoenix would never approach something evil so that had helped sway his worries somewhat. Not entirely however, Harry was still hiding something and it felt like something big.

He sighed wearily; things had gotten so very complicated. It was part of the reason he hadn't insisted Harry start on lessons to learn about Hocruxes or try to approach Professor Slughorn, he wasn't sure if he could trust the child anymore.

He would wait for now. Perhaps after a little observation things would be clearer, maybe he would ask Severus to tell him what he found out about the teen during his lessons.

He knew this was a violation of privacy, but well….they were at war. And it was essential that Harry was still on the right side of things.

**next chapter- hunting and goblins ;)**


	18. A slant in perspective

**Read and review, review, reivew!**

**Chapter 17: A slant in perspective **

_There are no facts, only interpretations."  
― __Friedrich Nietzsche_

An irritating buzzing noise battered against Draco's sleep deprived brain, causing him to grit his teeth in annoyance. Fucking Pansy, did she have to blather on incessantly this bloody early in the morning?

"Draaaakey" Pansey whined placing her delicately manicured hand on his forearm, "Are you even listening to me?"

Draco mentally rolled his eyes as he ignored her attempt to physically limit his movement and continued at a brisk pace towards the Great hall for breakfast, "Yes" he retorted sharply, while yanking his arm away just as sharply.

"Hmmmph…well good…what has gotten into you lately?" She fake pouted, scurrying after him a tad frantically, to stop from falling behind.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked in a bored tone, although inside he was panicking. Surely, he hadn't been acting suspicious enough for her to guess his wavering loyalties? He was sure he had covered his tracks so far….but what if he hadn't?

"Well, I don't know….you just seem preoccupied or something" she stated with a casual shrug.

Draco felt his panic waning; she didn't know anything then…good. -"…and well what's with your constant staring at Potter?" okay so perhaps his relaxation had been too soon.

"What in Merlin's names are you talking about Pansey? Why would I staring at that git?" He asked snappishly.

Silently he was berating himself for his foolishness… for he had been staring at the stupid git perhaps a tad more than normal. He didn't mean too…he just couldn't seem to help himself, his eyes just automatically sought out the teen.

Hell, he had caught himself staring at Potter three separate times throughout dinner last night without realizing he was even doing it. He adamantly told himself that it was natural to keep an eye on your rival, self preservation and all. Then again it wasn't all that self preserving to be staring at the golden boy, especially for someone who wanted to escape suspicion about sympathizing with the enemy.

" Oh pllleeeease, Drake…don't deny it, it's all you've been doing since we've gotten back" Pansey stated, helping herself to a large serving of fried potatoes and eggs.

Draco, controlled his urge to wrinkle his nose in disgust at the girl's annoying habit of drawing out vowels and her un-ladylike table manners, "I haven't" he denied in a prim, disdainful voice.

"You have" a second voice joined the conversation as Blaise sat down blearily and reached for the coffee, "Are you planning something to humiliate him again or something? You really should try and hold back a bit this year Draco…we can't afford to draw the headmaster's attention more than it already is to us….especially If we are hoping to get marked at Christmas"

Draco scowled at the mark comment, but passed if off as being irritated over Blaise's reprimand. "Whatever…look I'll keep my nose clean, don't worry your pretty little arse over it"

Blaise grunted something that sounded vaguely insulting back but ignored the conversation there after, refocusing on finishing his breakfast.

Draco did the same, his mind once again churning with worry. He could not escape the proverbial axe hanging over his head for even a moment. Every second, every minute, brought him closer to it. He only had four months to figure a way out of this mess…and he wasn't sure that he would.

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ron could not believe his luck. It was horribly, terribly, rotten….that's what it was. First off he had been forced to spend the majority of his summer locked away, in that horrible, dark, smelly house…cleaning of all things! While Harry was off gallivanting and having fun.

It was completely unfair, even the twins only showed up at odd intervals, often leaving more of a mess when they left then there had been when they arrived. Sure, staying the summer at the Headquarters of Dumbledore's super-spy organization had _sounded_ like a riot…it proved to be anything but.

He had hoped when Hermione had shown up that at least he would get in a couple good snogs, but _of course_ he must have been delusional when he pictured that… there was a reason Lavender had called her a no-nookie-nun. Instead of long, hot make-out sessions, he had been treated to long hot studying sessions. Trust him; the second was not nearly as enjoyable as the first.

And then after finally getting to go back to school, where everything with re-right itself, and he will be once again one of the golden trio…Harry shows up and is completely changed! From his new clothing, to his sudden good-looks (not that he was terrible before, just… well…a tad scrawny and secondhand), to his new found confidence.

It was like he didn't even need Ron anymore. He kept sneaking off, none of the Gryffindors had seen him all weekend except Neville (and what was with that? Since when would Harry rather hang out with the awkward toad boy then him?). And even when he was around he seemed to be off in another place.

It was infuriating as hell! Oh, and for the icing on everything that was monumentally wrong with his life at the moment, McGonagall had approached them this morning and informed them that they wouldn't be getting their potions free period but instead be forced by 'ministry mandate' to take the stupid class.

Life was truly unfair.

Glaring at the floor with particular venom, Ron stomped moodily after a nattering Hermione and silent Harry as they made their way done to the dungeons for class. Of course the first day back, they had double potions first bloody thing….well, at least the greasy dungeon bat wouldn't be teaching it anymore. Thank Merlin for small miracles.

When they arrived, the door was already unlocked and opened so they traipsed in and grabbed seats. Ron managed to secure a seat beside Hermione to his relief (she would likely help him; even if only to ensure that his ruined concoction didn't explode and ruin her potion). Harry didn't even look at him as he passed and sat down beside Neville. Ron frowned at this, he hated being ignored…old Harry would have at least shot him a knowing look or something.

After a long ten minutes and no teacher, the rest of the students started to become antsy…the volume rose and insults were volleyed back and forth between the Gryffindor side and the Slytherin side of the classroom.

Again, this was different from normal; for one Snape would never have been late….and secondly both Harry and Draco were not participating in the insult war, Harry staring off in to space, seemingly not even noticing the ruckus around him, while Draco sat glaring at the table in front of him.

Ron gave a jump and almost fell off his stool as the door flew open with a bang. Snape strode in to the now silent classroom, his usual black robes swirling behind him, "It seems that Professor Slughorn is…._indisposed_ at the moment…I will be teaching you blithering morons for today" his lips curled in distaste around his statement.

"The fact that the Ministry has passed an idiotic mandate that all of your dunderheads be allowed to take this class this year his beyond ridiculous. If any of you so much as breathe wrong you will be out faster than Mr. Weasley shoves food down his trap…is that understood?" Snape said in a quiet, deadly voice, ignoring the snickering from the Slytherin room at his comment. Ron glared petulantly, greasy bat.

Taking the remaining class's silence as consent, Snape spun to start writing on the chalk board, "Good. Now I do not care how Professor Slughorn will conduct his class, he is not here at the moment so you will do as I wish. And I will not be subjected to the idiots in this classroom blowing up their caldrons" he stated glaring in Neville's direction, "therefore I will be assigning you partners. These are the people you will partner with for the remainder of the semester unless otherwise stated by Professor Slughorn when he returns….pay attention for they will be your defense partners as well"

A few groans and mutters could be heard, mainly from the Gryffindor side of the room. "Weasley you are with Bulstrode, Granger with Doyle, Finnigan with Crabbe, Thomas with Zabini, Parkinson with Longbottom" he sent a venomous glare in the direction of her shrieked protest, before continuing. Several names later he finished with, "Potter move beside Malfoy."

Ron looked over to where Harry was gathering his supplies in order to send him a sympathetic look but once again Harry didn't turn to look at him, simply moving to sit beside Malfoy without complaint. Ron frowned once again at this….what the hell?

Soon this concern was pushed out of his head as he struggled to follow the cramped directions to making, the Somavi nox* potion they were suppose to produce. Bulstrode, while not as talented as Hermione (then again who was?) was better than he was, so he let her take charge for most of it. She was one of the better snakes, though rather scary looking.

"Time" Snape's bored drawl called out, startling Ron and almost making him drop the glass vial he had picked up.

Their potion was nowhere near the dark black it was suppose to be; instead the color resembled a slightly smoky orange. Ron shrugged and scooped the potion in anyway… at least the cauldron hadn't melted like Pansy's and Neville's. The former was glaring angrily at a sheepish looking Neville.

Ron trotted up and deposited his and Bulstrode's vial on Snape's desk, turning back to go get his bag and supplies. He glanced at the table where Malfoy and Harry where sitting…Malfoy was carefully scooping up a pure black solution into the vial Harry held out to him. Ron glared…of course Harry got a partner who was actually good at potions…even if Malfoy was a git.

Brooding again about his misfortunes, Ron almost missed what happened next. He couldn't believe it! It was so implausible that he had to have imagined it. Malfoy had leaned over to say something to Harry; an insult likely….which was not what gave Ron pause, as this was a fairly regular occurrence.

No! what stopped him in his tracks was the fact that Harry smirked (smirked! Since when does harry smirk?) at Malfoy and then…get this! He winked at the blond ponce! And instead of Malfoy punching Harry straight in the face (like he should have, if all was right in the world), the blond BLUSHED!

Ron felt like his head was imploding. He really could not understand what had just happened. Sure that he had made a mistake and misunderstood the context of the exchange; he resumed his path to the exit. Right before he left he heard,

"Potter…lessons with me tonight, 7pm don't be late" Snape stated, though his tone didn't seem to carry the same amount of loathing as was normal.

"Of course _Professor_, wouldn't dream of it" Harry replied cheekily.

Ron spun to look at them, on reflex partly because he couldn't believe Harry dared to use that tone with the greasy git…Snape was going to murder him. Well, perhaps Ron could step in and save Harry and then Harry would be so thankful to him that their friendship could go back to how it was.

Except, before he could put this plan into action Snape said, "get out, you little brat" in an almost _fond _tone….and then SMILED! at harry.

With that Ron felt his whole world view shatter.

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***Potion to give drinker night vision**


	19. Monsters in the Dark

**Chapter 18: Monsters in the dark **

_"__Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."  
― __Rick Riordan_

Harry walked swiftly and silently down the quiet halls, making no overt effort to hide his good mood. All in all today had gone swimmingly… while he still missed the Shadow realm desperately; he could not deny it was fun to mess with the people around him.

The teasing and poking he participated in throughout the day, was a far cry from the cruel pranks that his mortal father and godfather once enjoyed. No, while he enjoyed throwing people off their game, he was not vicious about it. Well, unless provoked.

While he was still finding the stares and whispers that followed him where ever he went irritating, he was not mortified or embarrassed by them… not like he once would have been. Truthfully, the childish rumors and gossip that was circulating like an unattended wildfire only served to amuse him.

Speaking of amusing, Malfoy was far more interesting then Harry remembered. There was something about the snooty blond heir, that made Harry want to irritate and unnerve him. Potions class had only proven this.

Golden boy Harry Potter would have been abhorred with the idea of having Malfoy as a potions and defense partner, but immortal Harry Potter found himself rather relieved. He could have had far worse partners then Malfoy.

Hermione would have driven him spare with her well meaning but condescending instructions, Ron, while having his heart in the right place was still too caught up in childish things and grudges, Neville, whom he was coming to appreciate more and more would have been an alright partner, but Harry had a feeling that he would have been forced to use his supernatural abilities to save the Longbottom heir from continuously destroying cauldrons….and well that would draw too much attention to the fact that Harry was now one of the more talented potioniers in the wizarding community (ten years under Severus's tutelage will do that to a person).

Malfoy's own potions prowess on the other hand, was well known enough to excuse the fact that Harry's potions were no longer the cause of Severus's venomous hatred. That and the blond had the most delightful reactions to Harry's teasing.

Harry had spent most of the potions class, subtly brushing up against the blond heir, dropping coy and flirty remarks about his obvious talent at handling the potion rods. He took delight in making Malfoy squirm and unwillingly blush at his comments. Each one just made Draco (and since when had he started calling him Draco?) more and more irate.

Draco had finally reacted with more than just hatful glares when Harry made a suggestive comment wondering if Draco's attention to detail (that had resulted in their perfect potion), could be put to better use.

Draco had hissed out in frustrations and confusion, not sure what to make of this new side to Potter that Potter's lack of attention and skill might be used to insinuate just the opposite. Harry had of course not reacted how Draco wanted, by lashing out at the Blond like he might once have, instead just gave him a saucy smirk and wink, with a barely audible whispered "Care to investigate your theory Draco?"

This resulted of course in a once again red faced and spluttering Malfoy.

Following the exchange Harry had noted a floured and confused looking Ron, but brushed it aside. He would allow the red head to stew and come to his own conclusions before attempting to speak to his onetime best friend. If he tried now, it would likely only result in the red head's brash quick fire temper coming to surface and might end with an exchange of words that neither could take back.

Coming to a stop at his intended destination he knocked softly on the solid door in front of him, a barely audible (well at least to the normal wizard's hearing) 'Enter' was heard. Harry listened and pushed the door open smirking in greeting at the dour immortal who had looked up from his reading.

"Harry" Severus stated with a brief dip of his head in acknowledgement, (They had moved on from using surnames to greet each other somewhere in the fifth year of their new student-mentor relationship).

"Severus" Harry replied before closing the door and wandlessly erecting a strong silencing ward, as well as a compulsion that deter others from stopping by the potion master's classroom and adjoining rooms.

"You are ready?" Severus asked letting his eyes make a quick sweep of the teen's personage, noting that under the standard Hogwart's cloak, Harry was indeed dressed to kill. And yes he meant literally.

Harry nodded, before removing his outer robe and draping across one of the stools used for class, "Where are we going? Further then Hogsmeade I hope?"

"Of course you idiot childe, Hogsmeade is too close and too small for a disappearance or death to go unaccounted. You had business yet with the goblins?" Severus answered his disproval over Harry's question showing.

Harry bowed his head in a brief apology before answering, "Yes, Hawkgins stated anytime tonight is fine with him"

"Good, we might as well attend to that first and then venture further in to muggle London to feed" Severus stated holding out a long, pale hand in Harry's direction.

Harry stepped forward and grasped the proffered hand, "Of course."

The two immortal's faded into the shadows of the soon to be empty potions room, stepping out from the alley behind Madam Malkin's Dressrobes. They wasted no time in moving towards the nearly deserted bank.

It was rather un-nerving to enter the tall, marble structure in the fast falling twilight, the low risen moon shone eerily off the marble pillars and statues. The normal bustling din of humanity and other not here to soften their sharp resonating steps.

"Hawkgin's is expecting me" Harry directed at the questioning looks he received from one of the lower ranked Goblins behind the tall counters. Harry let a brief moment of smugness at the fact that he could actually see over the counters this time, thanks to the better nutrition he had received before his turning.

The unnamed Goblin's eyes widened momentarily but he was quick to shutter his surprise at the request and send the message. A long moment later he nodded at both of the immortal's in front of him and stated "You may proceed, he is waiting for you"

Neither Harry nor Severus bothered with thanks before moving swiftly throughout the twisting corridors of the bank. Immortal's were one of the few species that Goblins acknowledged as superiors and therefore it would have been an insult to them, had they interacted as Wizards were expected to. There was no need for long drawn out greetings and words between the two species.

They arrived and succulently greeted the ancient Goblin that was waiting for them, before gracefully sitting in the chairs across from them. Severus could not help but appreciate these small trips of freedom which allowed him to regain his natural movements and reactions. It was so very tiresome to have to act as a bitter, old wizard…ungainly and stilted in grace.

"Lord Duke Diaz-Potter-Black, Lord Prince, how would you like to proceed? Lord Duke….do you wish to do this in private?" Hawkgins asked, his voice stilted but deferential.

"No, Severus can stay" Harry waved away the question.

"Very well…the documents are in front of you" Hawkgin's stated gesturing towards a thick pile of paper in front of him, which Harry reached over and started to peruse.

He did not let his surprise show at the contents, it was true that he had expected some of what the papers contained but this was certainly more extensive then he had thought. He expertly schooled his expression not to show the warmth that was spreading throughout his chest at the fact that he was now Leonor's heir. He had known this to be true, but the evidence of a recognized link to his sire put down on paper just made Harry proud and thankful.

He couldn't stop his eyebrow from rising when he noted that Prince Kieran had made him his recognized apprentice or the fact that Severus had also officially recognized Harry as the potion master's one.

Being named as an apprentice was just below being named an heir, it recognized the named as a part of their family and should the master not have a named or biological heir in the future, Harry as apprentice would take up that position.

Harry in a very human and child like manner turned and gave the surprised and stiff potions master a hug. A moment later his mind caught up with his actions and realized what he was doing, causing him to blush and release the startled man, quickly resuming his reading. Harry could care less about the titles, riches and power that came with such a acknowledgement, but the fact that Severus had named him meant the man truly saw him as family now.

Harry was shocked at how much he had needed that recognition from his formerly hated professor.

Severus for his part was still sitting stiffly, frozen in shock over the teen's actions. And very deep down, in a small part of his heart, that Severus had worked to lock away a very long time ago, he was grateful. The teen's impulsive actions could not help but remind him of another green eyed beauty.

"There are a lot of titles and vaults listed here…."Harry finally voiced, looking to the ancient goblin across from him in question.

"Yes, as you know…with your turning you are officially emancipated as we recognize your true age, not physical…therefore you are now the head of the Potter and Black house, as well as inheriting the Ravenclaw title and Gryffindor title from your mother and father respectively…." Hawkgin's began but paused at Harry's raised eyebrow.

"Your mother was not a true muggleborn but comes from a squib line descended from Rowena Ravenclaw….as the wizarding lines died out decades ago you are the last living descendent…or not living I suppose" the Goblin's lips quirked in to a rare, albeit frightening parody of a smile.

"Continuing on, from magic you inherit the Slytherin title, as Tom Marvello's soul is seen as less whole then yours at the moment….as well as being the Perverell heir. The numerous other vaults you see there are from heirless families who have died out but left their fortunes in thanks to the infant that vanished the Dark Lord….You knew of course that you would be Marquess Diaz's heir. His highness Prince Kieran has chosen you as his apprentice, and lastly Lord Prince..." Hawkgins gave a brief nod towards a still stiff Severus, "…has named you his apprentice as well, although his godson, Draco Malfoy is named as a beneficiary with partial claims to Lord Prince's wealth and titles" Hawkgin's finished.

Harry nodded numbly at the amount of wealth and power he seemed to have at his disposal, "As I am now emancipated does that mean I can leave Hogwarts for business and such as I wish?"

Hawkgins nodded, "it does indeed, here is the signet rings for Potter, Black, Perverell, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor houses….and here is the equivalent earring to represent you as the Diaz heir, as well as the studs for the apprentice of the Prince and Royal house" the goblin stated passing each of the named pieces of jewelry over. (Immortal's chose to recognize their family heirs, apprentices and children through the use of earrings and studs, rather than rings).

Harry eyed the numerous items with no small amount of trepidation…."Is there…"

"You can will the rings to combine into a bracelet, decorated with the various house insignias…it is done for wizards or other magical creatures who inherit numerous titles" the goblin answered his partially asked question.

Harry nodded with relief, he really hadn't wanted to have to wear six rings.

He did as instructed quickly and the resulting black and gold twisted bracelet reappeared as an arm band on his right arm. Delicate etchings of the various house's totems were just visible.

Harry smiled as he attached the Diaz heir ornament to his left ear, he rather felt like Bill Weasley, with the sharp immortal tooth hanging from the gold hooped earring. He just as swiftly inserted the beautiful emerald stud (of the Royal house), and the less flashy but still elegant black onyx one of the Prince house to his right ear, placing the small gold studs that had been there previously into his pocket.

A sharp pain cascaded down his spine before promptly disappearing; Harry recognized it for what it was…the various titles and houses accepting him. "We are done then? Severus did you need to see to anything while we are here?" Harry asked, folding the papers in front of him and handing them back to the Goblin, with the needed signature.

"No, we can go" Severus answered, standing and nodding his goodbye at the goblin before moving towards the door.

"Thank you, Hawkgin's I will see to it that your continued loyalties are rewarded" Harry stated with his own brief nod before following Severus.

"Of course Lord-Duke, pleasure is all mine" the goblin answered.

'Now' Harry thought to himself with a vicious smirk, 'they could finally go and hunt.'

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The night sky was now pitch black showing the late hour… apparently they had spent longer then he'd thought at the bank. Severus sighed pushing his irritation back at the wasted time, while holding out his hand for Harry to grab once again.

The trip to the bank was necessary he reminded himself, and in truth he could not begrudge the smaller immortal. Not any longer anyhow, throughout the last decade he had started to see Harry as the impulsive and irritating, yet loved nephew he'd never have.

Harry's smaller hand closed around his wrist and Severus shadow ported them to Brixton, a sketchier area of London (Harry could have easily ported himself, if he had known where they were headed that is).

It didn't take them long to find their prey for the night. When Harry had first been turned he had found hunting and killing repulsive and had spent six months in agony because he refused to partake. He had learned quickly to get over his objections. Although he still preferred to drink from those of a less savory nature, hence the reason for tonight's chosen victims.

The men that the immortals were currently stalking where members of a gang that was infamous for targeting the sisters, mothers and girlfriends of opposing gangs and rivals to rape for revenge. Harry felt zero remorse for stalking and killing men like these.

True, it might make him a monster in the eyes of many, but as far as he was concerned he was less of a monster then the man he killed.

The entire stalk, hunt, drink and kill was done and over, with little fanfare. Fortified for at least the next several days, Harry carefully cleaned the blood from his lips and made sure his clothes had survived intact.

In silence the immortals disposed of the bodies with a quick cast flame and ported back to Severus's office. Harry readjusted his previous discarded Hogwart's cloak and made his way to the door. "Thank you, Severus…I will meet you here again on Wednesday?"

Severus nodded his agreement seeming hesitant for a moment, "What are you doing with Draco?" he finally asked.

Harry's head shot up in surprise, "What do you mean?" he feigned ignorance. Severus shot him a look. Sighing, Harry carded his hands through his slightly disheveled hair, "Nothing"

Again Severus shot him a look, "Fine, just teasing the git a bit, loosen him up…something is up with him, he's more nervous and jumpy then before" Harry grudgingly admitted.

"I noticed that too, I will try to talk to him….." Severus said before pausing again a sly smirk on his face, "…or he might be more willing to talk to someone his own age…"

Harry gaped at him, "wha-No way! There is no way that Malfoy will talk to me of all people" he protested.

Another look was sent his way.

Harry groaned, "your bloody manipulative you know…fine. If he doesn't say anything to you then I'll try" he grudgingly agreed. Seeing Severus's smug expression he glared at the potion's master. "but only….and I mean ONLY if you can't get through to him…..not like he'll listen to anything I say anyway" he muttered the last under his breath.

"Good, now get out of here you brat before your little lions start to question your late return" Severus stated waving him away with his usual display of impatience.

Harry just rolled his eyes and quickly did as instructed, he sighed to himself wondering how he always managed to get stuck doing these types of things….

Ah, well surely Draco would talk to Severus….right?


	20. Pulling Pigtails

**Here is the next chapter. Just a quick thank you to some of my reviewers who caught some rather embarrasing spelling mistakes...*blush*, thanks for the heads up!**

**I love hearing what you think so please keep reviewing and letting me know! hope you enjoy today's update...happy reading!**

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**Chapter 19: Pulling Pigtails **

_If you can look inside your heart  
And understand what's tearing you apart  
You gotta trust someone  
Don't let hate get in the way_

_Just turn it into love_

Dumbledore gave a heavy sigh as he hurriedly swallowed done the fourth of seventeen daily potions he was currently on. Well nineteen if you wanted to include the pepper-up and headache reliever that he had taken after his meeting with Severus.

He gulped down water trying to rid his mouth of the foul tasting concoction, a concoction that he was forced to take all thanks to his own incredible stupidity. He twirled the now destroyed ring on his finger absently, while studiously ignoring the equally destroyed black flesh beneath it.

Thank god Severus had been there to slow the spread of the death causing curse… without the Potion masters intervention he would have died two weeks ago, as it was he had only prevented the inevitable by ten months or so.

He could not help but wonder if the cursed ring was tainted with more than the life stealing curse….surely it must also have a curse that caused the wearer to reap a mountain of retched luck. Though, then again perhaps it was fates way of making sure he paid for all of his mistakes and sins.

He quickly banished this morose line of thought, what was done was done…nothing could bring back his dear Ariana, or save the lost, lonely dark haired boy…either of them really. He couldn't even really console himself by saying he had learnt from his mistakes…for he seemed to be cursing the second dark haired boy to a worse fate then the first.

But it was necessary.

He shook his head again, now was not the time to second guess his decisions…he had other matters of importance to attend to at the moment. One of them being the disappearance of his potions teachers, Horace Slughorn.

Dumbledore had of course hired the man with other purposes then potions in mind. For dear Horace had a secret, a secret that Dumbledore was desperate to learn…it was after all the key to defeating Voldemort.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if Dumbledore's newly acquired bad luck had struck again. Horace had been present for the welcome back feast. It was true that he had been slightly more skittish and nervous than normal, but Dumbledore had written it off as normal. The man had been on the run for the past two years, and it would take him awhile to settle in.

He wasn't overly thrilled with the fact that Horace had insisted that he needed to go down to Madame Rosmerta's for a late night drink (to calm his nerves, or so he had stated) but Dumbledore hadn't wanted to push his luck (Slughorn had barely agreed to come and teach after all) so he had held his tongue.

He wished now that he had spoken up. Slughorn had not returned from his late night trip, and had been missing now for over a week. The feeling of dread in his stomach told Dumbledore that the man would likely never have another drink.

Dumbledore had just finished a meeting with a rather annoyed and peeved Severus, who was understandably rather resentful over having to cover two teaching positions. The dour man had threatened Albus with having to find a replacement for him as well, if Albus didn't find someone to fill in Slughorn's position.

Dumbledore reluctantly agreed (he was still holding some hope that Slughorn had simply gone on a week binge in Vegas and would be returning to spill his secrets to Albus). But he couldn't risk losing Severus as well so now Dumbledore was waiting to interview one of the potential candidates for the defense position.

Severus had reluctantly agreed to go back to teaching potions, instead of defense (it was much easier to fill the defense position then the potions one, most potions masters had no desire to be anywhere near incompetent children).

Dumbledore stared down at the application with a small amount of unease, it was a natural feeling given the nature of the last several defense teachers he had hired. There was nothing that stood out about the applicant. He was more than qualified for the position.

The man had apparently taught defense in other foreign schools, not to mention he had been the defense master champion four years ago (it was an elite competition, setting defense masters against one another to test their skills), this was a little surprising given the man's young age. But he was probably a prodigy; Severus after all had achieved his potion's masters at an extremely young age and was now one of the best in the world.

Albus frowned at the application before replacing it in the folder with the rest; he really hoped this one would pan out. The other interviews had been abysmal, ranging from drunken washed up former aurors to a man, who while knowledgeable in the subject had zero practical experience. This candidate was really Albus's last hope.

There was a soft knock on his outer office door, after a 'come in', the door swung open revealing a medium sized man who from the brief glance Dumbledore gave him appeared to be incredibly fit. Dark hair hung in his eyes obscuring them from Dumbledore's sight.

Dumbledore offered his usual greeting, and offer for lemon drops before signaling the man that he should sit down. He frowned to himself again, there was something off about this man….it actually reminded Albus a lot of the changes he had noticed in young Harry.

When the man finally looked up, Albus found himself taking in a sudden sharp breath.

The man stared back placidly, his ruby red eyes never leaving Albus's face.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Stupid. This was a completely idiotic and moronic idea. Why, oh why was he doing this again?

...ah yes, because he had promised Severus he would. Harry wanted to smack himself for his own stupidity. He had been so sure that Draco would open up to his Godfather and therefore make Harry's own agreement to speak with the blond, null and void.

But of course being the pain in the ass that Draco was, he had only lashed out at Severus and told him to leave him be. So now Harry was searching the school looking for the giant blond prat.

He followed the faint trail of Draco's scent through the nearly deserted halls (it was lunch and most of the school's inhabitants where busily stuffing their faces in the great hall…Draco not included, harry had checked.).

He finally found Draco on the fourth floor, standing in one of the more deserted corridors that branched off from the main hall, staring dejectedly out of one of the windows pointed at the lake.

"Malfoy" Harry greeted stepping up beside Draco to look out the window as well.

Draco gave a start, nearly jumping out of his skin at the sound of Harry's voice. Obviously the teen had been lost in his own thoughts and very much unaware of his surroundings.

"Potter, what are you doing here" Draco spat, quickly recovering from his surprise and masking any embarrassment at allowing himself to be snuck up on, with blatant hostility.

Harry shrugged, "No reason."

Draco gave him an incredulous look. Harry smiled sheepishly before admitting, "Ok, I'm avoiding the staring sheep" he stated, not feeling all that guilty for his white lie.

It was partially true he did tend to avoid most meals to lessen the amount of time he had to spend being the sole focus of the gossip monger's, his adoring fans and any envious school mates.

Draco was not able to stop his snort of amusement from being heard, he found it amusing that the great hero who had faced Voldemort and death numerous times without blinking was afraid to confront his nosey classmates.

Harry as if sensing his thoughts gave him a rueful grin, "so what are you doing here?"

Draco shrugged, shifting uneasily, "Just wasn't hungry" he lied.

Harry raised his eyebrow skeptically. Draco ignored him, going back to staring out the window stubbornly. There was no way he was going to tell Potter the real reason, even if the boy-hero didn't actually seem as bad this year…he was still Potter.

Draco quickly pushed away thoughts of their potion's class earlier that week, fighting to stop himself from blushing. Just because the teen had apparently lost all sense of propriety and what little sanity he had possessed…did not mean Draco should trust him.

Trusting a crazy person was a bad idea after all.

Harry sighed to himself running his hand through his long hair. This was retarded. Severus was mad to have even suggested this….well, here goes nothing.

"Look Draco.." Harry started not noticing Draco's surprised expression at the use of his first name, "…I know we have never been friends.." Draco snorted, "…but I'm tired of being your enemy. I know something is bothering you…and I know you already told Severus to mind his own business, so I won't bother trying to make you tell me…but if you ever need someone to talk too, I promise I won't judge or spread it around" Harry finished not looking away from the window.

Draco drew in a sharp breath of surprise. How did Harry know? Did harry know? Surely he only had a general suspicion…he couldn't know the whole truth…could he? Draco felt his panic rising….he needed to get out of here, away from Harry and his knowing eyes…he couldn't think…

"Fuck off Potter! I don't have anything to tell you and even if I did you are the last person I would go running too. So just stay the fuck away from me and mind your own god damn business" Draco lashed out, his face red with anger.

Harry sighed, "Ok Draco…like I said you don't have to tell me, I'll leave you be" he stated turning away from the window and slowly starting to walk away.

Draco felt a sharp stab of regret over his words and outburst. Potter hadn't said those things out of pity or spite….he wanted to call the teen back to admit everything, but his pride stopped him. He stayed silent.

Harry paused his retreat and glanced back at the silent, staring blond, "The offer still stands though….if you need it, I will listen" he whispered just loud enough for Draco to hear before turning and walking swiftly away.

Draco returned to looking out the window in contemplation, this time though he felt oddly less weighed down.

Maybe he would take Potter up on his offer….not now, but maybe sometime in the future.

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Later that day, Harry made his way slowly towards the great hall for dinner, chatting peacefully with Neville. He may avoid meals whenever possible but he still tried to show up for at least one per day, for his cover if nothing else.

Neville had been growing more and more confidant with every day that pass, and Harry could say that he genuinely enjoyed the other boy's company.

Unlike Hermione Neville never pried. He might shoot Harry curious looks when something the raven haired teen did or said didn't add up, but he never asked and for that Harry was grateful. Neville was also quieter and calmer then Ron, he didn't jump to conclusions or fall into fits of rage on a moment's notice, something that Harry as an immortal with fight and war instincts could appreciate.

They were currently discussing the possible career paths that someone with top notch Herbology marks, but failing potions ones could pursue. Harry thought that the quiet boy would make a stellar Herbology professor or researcher.

Neville given his shyness towards most people was unsure. Keeping all of his attention on his friend during their walk to the Gryffindor table (mainly to avoid noticing the many stares and whispers directed at him), Harry didn't notice that it was not only the students that were staring at him.

Suddenly Neville broke off their conversation, "Hey…Harry….who is that guy? Do you think he is taking Professor Slughorn's position?" Neville asked looking up at the staff table.

Harry slowly directed his gaze to see what Neville was talking about. Their potions professor; Professor Slughorn was still not teaching their classes… in fact he seemed to have just vanished after the arrival dinner.

Harry scanned the usual assortment of teachers before coming to the man in question, he froze when he met those familiar red eyes, eyes that were staring straight back at him.

He couldn't stop the jubilant smile that spread across his face; their new professor was none other than his on again, off again lover.

Zyren had come to Hogwarts.


	21. Building Pressure

**Thanks for the reviews so far! I too am excited that Zyren is re-entering the picture. Not sure where this will lead but time will tell...Please review...please...please...please with cherry on top? Hope you enjoy!**

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**Chap 20**: **Building pressure**

___"__Nobody works better under pressure. They just work faster."  
― __Brian Tracy_

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_-_**FLASHBACK: SHADOW REALM-2 years in-**

_ "__What the hell is your problem?" Harry yelled his frustration and fatigue breaking what little control he had over his emotions. _

_"__I do not have a problem" the daemon replied stiffly, his angry glare never leaving Harry's face. _

_Harry snorted at this, causing Zyren's eyes to narrow even more. _

_"__And here I thought you were suppose to be the brave one" Harry taunted, not caring that he was showing blatant disrespect to his teacher._

_Harry had, had enough of the daemon's demeaning, snide comments, his hateful glares, his confusing bipolar moods._

_Harry might be young… far younger then the being in front of him,( considering he was changed only a week ago) but it didn't mean he would just lie down and take the abuse Zyren had been tossing his way. The daemon's dislike for him had only seemed to have increased since Leonor had turned him. Harry couldn't understand what he had done to make the daemon hate him so much_

_"__What are you implying petit combatant?" the daemon asked, his voice low, laced heavily with warning. _

_"__You tell me" Harry answered back, folding his arm in front of him in challenge._

_Zyren snarled the sound ugly, as he took in the defiant pose of his student. Suddenly he did not care to hold back any longer. Oh, he knew that Leonor would likely cast him into the fire realm for this but at the moment; looking at the infuriatingly beautiful and stubborn immortal in front of him…he just didn't care. _

_The daemon wasted no time in closing the distance between them, smirking smugly when his sudden movement startled a squeak out of the teen. Taking advantage of the other's momentary surprise, the daemon was quick to fasten one hand on Harry's hip while the other latched onto the teen's long braided hair pulling it viciously back and causing the teen to expose his throat in forced submission. _

_"__You need to hear me say it petit combatant?" Zyren asked whispering the question in the teen's ear. _

_Harry shuddered against him, his pupils blown with lust at the daemon's controlling touches, not trusting his voice at the moment he nodded. _

_"__What was that Harree? I did not hear you" the daemon whispered again, rolling his hips in a circular motion increasing the friction between the two of them and relishing the small gasp he forced from the young immortal's lips. _

_"__Y-Yes" Harry gasped out, fighting to stop himself from moaning at the delicious heat the other daemon's body was giving off. The daemon being a fire daemon was far warmer than any immortal, or even mortal for that matter. _

_"__You…. You are my problem" the daemon stated darkly, "You distract me, confuse me…call to me, petit combatant"_

_Harry shuddered again at the words, so close to his own feelings for the daemon. _

_"__Please.." Harry pleaded, hating how his tone sounded broken and desperate even to his own ears. _

_"__Please what, Harree?" Zyren asked teasingly tracing a burning finger down Harry's bared flank. _

_"__P-Please…I…I need you" Harry said again, closing his eyes in humiliation. He could not believe he was letting the older being do this to him. Making him so desperate, so needy…so weak. _

_"__Open your eyes Harree, look at me" the daemon demanded. _

_Harry reluctantly opened his eyes and was startled at the soft expression on the daemon's face. An expression he was sure he had never seen the daemon wear before._

_"__Do not hide from me Harree…I will take care of you" Zyren whispered his warm breath like a soft caress , before he placed a soft, almost loving kiss on Harry's lips. _

_"__I promise" was the last thing Harry heard the daemon whisper before he stopped thinking of anything beyond the fiery touches Zyren was giving him. _

**End Flashback**

Harry could not stop the warm blush that rose to his cheeks as he recalled the first time he and Zyren had been together.

"-arry, Harry!" another voice was calling him. Harry shook his head and tore his gaze from the daemon sitting calmly at the staff table, to refocus on the boy sitting next to him.

"Harry are you okay?" Neville asked his voice full of concern.

"Yeah…I'm fine" Harry answered automatically. Seeing the look that Neville shot him, Harry chuckled "Really Nev…I'm fine just got caught up in a memory is all"

Neville still looked somewhat skeptical, "a memory that just so happens to have been caused by whoever that new guy is?"

Harry fought down a second blush and smiled at Neville, "Er….no?" his statement coming out as a question. Harry sighed at Neville's continued scepticism…he would have to come up with something to tell his friend.

He hated lying to the other boy, who had only ever been kind to him, but he was not ready to share his 'summer experience' with anyone…not even Neville.

"It's his eyes I guess…." Harry mumbled, not meeting Neville's eyes.

"Oh.." Neville's tone was suddenly full of understanding. Harry winced, guilt rising once more. He knew Neville thought he was referring to how Voldemort's eyes were a similar colour and that was what he had been thinking of, _not _that Harry had actually been remembering just how those ruby eyes resembled burning flames during some of their…well, more intimate activities.

Neville sensing his discomfort with the topic was quick to change it to a safer area… bringing up how he had managed to convince his grandma to let him go and watch the Harpies vs. Thunderbirds last quiditch match. Harry sighed in relief.

He was without a doubt thrilled to see Zyren again, but at the same time he was a little confused. Why was the daemon here? Was it to see him? Or was there something larger going on? And what did it mean for them?

As much as he enjoyed Zyren's company and vice versa, Harry was pretty sure that they did not love each other…at least not in that way. They both found relief in each other's bodies and comfort in their easy companionship…but something told Harry that they did not actually belong to one another. That they both had someone else waiting for them.

He sighed again, pushing the wilted looking green beans on his plate around banishing these thoughts for the moment. He did not know why Zyren was back but for now he would just enjoy the other's company.

They could figure everything else out later.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Draco's hands shook as he refolded the creased piece of parchment he had been staring at for the past ten minutes, the noise of the great hall around him went unnoticed to the shaken teen.

"Drakey! What is it? Did you receive a letter from home?" Pansy asked her voice as hackle raising as ever, "…do you have some news about…_him_?" she asked the second part of her question with a low eager tone.

Draco shook his shoulder to dislodge her taloned claws from its previous grip, "No, it is simply mother wanting to know how the term is going" he answered in a surprisingly steady voice, his tone was as cold and imperious as usual.

"Oh…" Pansy sighed disappointed before turning back to her syrup drowned breakfast.

Draco buried his reflexive shudder and stood up abruptly.

"Where are you going?" Blaise finally spoke up having successfully finished his first cup of attention sharpening brew (otherwise known as coffee).

"I forgot to pack my defense text, I am going to go get it before class" Draco stated coldly, quickly leaving before either of his 'friends' could answer. He was once again thankful that Crabbe and Goyle had chosen to distance themselves from him after Draco's father was arrested.

While at the time he had been hurt by the actions of those he had considered friends, now he could only feel relieved. While they were extraordinarily dense most of the time, he did not want to risk them having one of their rare moments of insight….not now.

He had lied to Pansy…while the letter was indeed from his mother and did make mentions of his schooling; it was the message that was there between the lines that shook Draco. Shook him to his very core.

His mother did not come out and say it but Draco was able to interpret her meaning well enough. The Dark Lord was becoming impatient…and his mother was paying the price.

He tried to smother his traitorous thoughts…the ones that wondered if his mother was truly in danger or if she was simply hinting at such things because it would help the Dark Lord's cause. As much as it hurt him to think such things about his family, he knew that there was a strong possibility these suspicions were true.

He shook his head; it did not matter if what his mother said was the truth or not, she was still family and if there was even a hint of danger to his family he would do all he could to eliminate it. And at the moment the only way for him to eliminate such a threat was to please the Dark Lord.

He would have to go forward with his given task….no matter how much he did not want to. His thoughts flickered to Harry's offer again. Maybe there was another way? It was possible…

Draco banished the small feelings of hope that the other boy's offer had brought him; no…he would not pull yet another person into his mess. He would do this alone.

He had to.

He would succeed….or die trying.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

A few miles away, Kathleen hummed softly to herself, unaware of the rapidly building tensions of both sides of the coming war.

At the moment she was simply focused on her task, Aunt Rosmerta had told her that all of the tables needed to be wiped manually and the garbage taken out.

While she hated being ordered around by her Aunt, this was the only job she could get at the moment. It was stupid. It's not like she could have known that sleeping with your boss's son was frowned upon. And now thanks to that little rat, she could not convince anyone but her Aunt to hire her.

She glared at the overflowing garbage bin in front of her, as if it were to blame for her plight. Sighing she stooped down to pick up the tied bag to toss it into the larger wheelie bin when something made her freeze.

She stopped… the smell coming from the bin was unimaginable…even when one took into consideration that it was a garbage bin. She knew she shouldn't go closer to have a look, but morbid curiosity made her ignore her first instincts.

When he got close enough to see what was causing the smell, she stumbled back in horror and let out an ear piercing scream.

Horace Slughorn's body had been found. And it was not in one piece.


End file.
